
Class JBJC&3 31 , 

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GopyrightN°_ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 




REV. J. T. MANN. 



"The First Church/' 



ITS ORIGIN AND MANUAL OF PRACTICE 

AS REVEALED IN 

THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

The Time, Manner and Place of Fulfillment of 
Prophecy by Christ, Her Head, 

AS THE FACTS ARE GIVEN IN 

THE NEW TESTAMENT. 



FIFTH THOUSAND. 



REV. J. T. MANN, 

Author of "Chips From My Workshop.' 



Atlanta, <Ba.: 

Koote & Da vies Company 

printers 

I904 






LI88A3V «f OOWSBFJSS 

two Oooies ^ecetvftg 
OCT 10 1904 

®LASS^ XXa No. 



COPYRIGHT, 1904, 
By REV. J. T. MANN 



ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 



This is the third revision. Numerous helps have 
been kindly given by brethren to enrich this edition. 
Among those who have made contributions to these 
pages I may mention Prof. Humphries, of Huntsville, 
Ala. ; Revs. T. C. Mahan and B. M. Bogard, of Arkan- 
sas ; Dr. Snow, of Knoxville, Tenn. ; Dr. A. J. Holt, 
of Texas ; Dr. W. J. McGlothlin of the Seminary ; Dr. 
W. W. Hamilton, Dr. B. A. Dawes, of Louisville; 
Dr. C. E. W. Dobbs, of Marietta, Ga., and Rev. W. T, 
Whitley, LL. D., of England. 

I have put explanations and notes like modifying 
clauses as near as mlay be to the word or thought 
modified for convenience to the reader. 

I have tried to anticipate every need that may be 
felt by any member of a Baptist Church, either for in- 
formation or for a defense of his faith. 

I have made some additions to the Church Covenant, 
and included many forms, and the system used by 
Dr. Snow in one of the best organized and finely de- 
veloped churches in the South. If churches will ac- 
cept the forms used in this edition, or so much of them 
as they can put into service, and place a copy of the 
book fn each home, I feel sure of satisfactory results. 

J. T. Mann, 
Fitzgerald, Ga. 



DEDICATION. 



These pages are dedicated to those who love the 
Lord ; to those who labor in love to build God's house ; 
and to those, also, who labor to perpetuate 'The Peace 
of Zion." 

May the Lord soon bring us to "see eye to eye and 
speak the same thing." It is of eternal importance to 
us for it to be so. 

We all want to meet up yonder in a land of Blazing 
Glory. 

Will you strive to be there? 

There are two eternities : one for the righteous, one 
for the wicked. 

With which will you spend it? 

Never, since the several churches, which sprang into 
life in the Reformation period, has so many men with 
such frequency as they come this year, from all the 
various churches, made calls, or prophecies for a union 
of all the churches. The prophets — Isaiah and Micah 
said, "all the nations shall flow unto it" — God's one 
church. 

May this volume be helpful to the peacemaker, and 
find a wide circulation unto that end. 



INTRODUCTION. 



THE ORIGINAL BAPTIST CREED. 
It is Authoritative and Binding. 



Rev. B. A. Dawes, D.D., 

LOUISVILLE, KY. 

An intelligent discussion of a Baptist creed, first 
calls for a definition of what constitutes one a Baptist. 
To define a Baptist is no easy task. What must one 
believe to be a Baptist ? How little can one believe and 
still be a Baptist? Just where is the point of depar- 
ture at which one ceases to be a Baptist ? What must 
one believe in order to be received into the member- 
ship of a Baptist church, and also to be retained in the 
membership ? Just how much and no more ? A meed 
of fame awaits him who gives a clear-cut definition of 
just what it takes to make a Bible Baptist. 

It is taken for granted that whatever is enough to 
secure admission into a Baptist church is enough to 
retain membership. 

Necessary for Membership. 

A study of the Bible having in view the practice of 
the Baptist churches in Apostolic times, as to what was 



6 INTRODUCTION. 

required for admission to membership, would show 
about the following: 

1. Personal faith in Jesus. 

2. Baptism. 

3. Obedience to Christ? 

The questions asked the candidates seeking member- 
ship in Baptist churches to-day are something like 
these : 

1. Are you trusting to Jesus Christ for salvation? 

2. Do you wish to follow him in baptism and unite 
with his church? 

3. Are you ready to do what is the clearly re- 
vealed will of Christ? 

In substance the requirements are the same for this 
and the Apostolic time. 

Whatever one must believe to secure and retain ad- 
mission into a Baptist church ought to be enough to 
constitute him a Baptist. 

Then may we not say that to be a Baptist one must 
have : 

1. A personal faith of heart and mind in Jesus as 
the Christ, the Son of God. 

2. As such he must receive Bible baptism. 

3. Then he must be loyal to the Word of God in 
faith and practice. 

He must have these three things at least; possibly 
two more. 

1. He must stand for liberty of conscience. 

2. He must believe in missions. 

Believing these things he is a Baptist, and no Baptist 
church would refuse to receive and keep him. 

Then it seems clear that a Baptist creed "would set 



A BAPTIST CREED. 7 

forth just what one must believe in order to be a 
Baptist. As a ereed vt would set forth no more than 
this. As Baptists we would want every Baptist to 
be associated with us in forwarding the work com- 
mitted to us, and would want to keep none away. 
Fortunately we are not left in doubt about the work 
that has been given us to do. Christ made that plain 
in his great commission. Here it is: 

1. To make believers. 

2. To baptize them. 

3. To train them. 

A Baptist creed then should contain just what is 
required, and only what is required, of a Baptist to 
believe and do. 

Such a creed would be binding. For such a creed 
I plead to-day. Such I think was "The Original Bap- 
tist Creed" — the creed held by the first Baptists — those 
of the Apostolic age. So far as I can see they have 
never had any other binding creed. About the year 
1600 they put forth a Confession of Faith. From time 
to time since then others have been issued. But they 
are not creeas in the sense that they have any binding 
force on individual Baptists. They have come to be 
substitutes for the "Original Baptist Creed," and those 
outside our ranks regard them as creeds with binding 
force. They are not binding. They could not be. 
Any Confession of Faith is only the expression of 
those who, having come together, each on his own 
responsibility, have said what they thought the Scrip- 
tures taught. It does not represent all Baptists, even 
the majority, that any one knows. 

Let it be understood that no objection is raised to 



8 INTRODUCTION. 

Confessions of Faith. They fare of real worth, great 
worth, I will say, in giving us the matured thought of 
what the Baptists of the past have held on great and 
important truths. They are splendid commentaries. 
It is hoped that in the future Baptists will continue to 
say what they think the Bible teaches on any and all 
subjects. Let each individual Baptist do this as he 
finds occasion. Let any number of them coming to- 
gether do so. Such is the privilege of Baptists. It is 
more than that; it is their duty. . 

Confessions of Faith not Sufficient. 

But such statements do not answer for a creed. They 
do not meet the need. 

i. Because they are not binding. 

2. Because they are not the expression of all Bap- 
tists. All Baptists have not set their seal of approval 
on any one of them. 

3. Because all Baptists do not agree with all that 
is in any one of them. 

The Baptist Review and Expositor said "Neither 
Northern, Southern, nor Canadian Baptists are agreed 
among themselves on all matters of doctrine." 

"We need a creed upon which all Baptists are 
agreed." 

4. Because these Confessions of Faith leave the 
impressions on those outside our ranks that we have 
a binding creed — rather that these confessions are a 
binding creed, when they are not. On account of this 
prejudice we fail to reach others who would else help 
us in doing our great work of saving, baptizing and 
training the world. 



CONFESSIONS OF FAITH. 9 

5. Because these Confessions of Faith do not cor- 
rectly represent the Baptist position to-day. The work 
of missions stands in the forefront of the present day 
Baptists. One searches the Confessions of Faith in 
vain for a deliverance on that subject. It seems to 
me that these Confessions of Faith are better represen- 
tations of the position of the Hardshell brethren than 
of ours. 

6. Because there is nothing in the Bible like these 
Confessions of Faith. I do not mean that what these 
Confessions of Faith contain is not true, far from it. 
But in the Bible there are no statements of doctrine 
like these Confessions of Faith. 

John said in summing up his Gospel, "These things 
are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ 
the Son of God, and that believing ye may have 
life in his name." That certainly is no Confession 
of Faith. It showis that he wrote that Gospel in order 
that he might induce people to be saved by believing 
in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. 

Paul said "Without controversy great is the mystery 
of godliness. " Here is his explanation: 

"He who was manifest in the flesh, 

Justified in the spirit, 

Seen of angels, 

Preached among the nations, 

Believed on in the world, 

Received up into glory." 

That is the history of Jesus Christ. 

A study of the records of the Baptists of the first 
century show that Jesus was the center of the creed. 

Peter on the day of Pentecost preached Jesus. He 



10 * INTRODUCTION. 

did the same to Cornelius. That was Philip's theme 
to the Eunuch. Jesus was Paul's theme at Perga, 
Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens, Corinth. In baptizing 
the twelve at Ephesus it was in the name of the Lord 
Jesus. In correcting thle unsoundness of those in 
the church at Corinth, he does not set forth a system 
of doctrine like one of our Confessions of Faith. The 
same was true when he was burning with indignation 
against the Galatian people who were "so quickly re- 
moving from him that called them in the grace of 
Christ." 

Paul said he had "kept the fafrh," but he nowhere 
elaborates it as do our Confessions of Faith. 

In Jude we read that the beloved are exhorted "to 
contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all 
delivered unto the saints." But nowhere is that "faith" 
elaborated into a system. It is my opinion that the 
"faith once for all delivered to the saints" was when 
Jesus met with his disciples sometime toward the 
close of the forty days after his resurrection and when 
he said to them, "All authority hath been given unto 
me both in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and 
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the 
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy 
Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatso- 
ever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you 
always, even unto the end of the world." 

There was a faith delivered to the saints and it was 
final. They were to keep on doing that even unto the 
end of the world. 

That, it seems to me, was the system of doctrine pro- 
claimed by the. Baptists of the first century. 



MISUNDERSTOOD. II 

1. They were to preach Christ and thus make be- 
lievers. 

2. They were to baptize these believers. 

3. Then they were to teach all Christ's commands 
to these baptized believers. 

That was all the creed the Baptists had for 1600 
years. Why did they then have something different. 
They gave as their reason for putting forth the first 
Confession of Faith that they were misunderstood and 
in order to set themselves right they formulated their 
Confession of Faith. It was a matter of expediency. 
Whether they meant them to take the place of the 
Original Baptist creed I do not know. They have 
taken its place. It is to get back to the original basis 
that I am now making this contention. I think it 
would have been far better for the cause of Christ if 
they had kept on doing as the Baptists of the first 
century did. 

Should Give More or Less. 

7. Because these Confessions of Faith do not go 
far enough if they mean to set forth what Baptists 
believe the Bible teaches. If they are to do that they 
must set forth all that the Baptists believe the Bible 
teaches. If we are going beyond what is absolutely 
necessary for one to believe in order to be a Baptist, 
we must set forth all that they believe. We must either 
stop at the line of necessity or give all. In every Bap- 
tist church there is a point beyond which one can not 
go and remain in that church. It is for a creed that 
goes just that far that I contend. Such a creed would 
be binding. 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

8. A Confession of Faith, founded on expediency, 
would of necessity, need revision from time to time. 
We need a creed that will be good for all time. 

9. Confessions of Faith are the deliverances of 
men. As such they are an infringement on the con- 
science, on the right of private interpretation. 

10. Confessions of Faith do not secure unity. For 
unity Christ prayed and Paul wrote. The multiplying 
of articles increases divisions. The simpler the creed 
the greater the unity. I quote below the words of 
a prominent Baptist minister — words in which he 
closes a long article on the Westminster Confession of 
Faith. Of that document he says. "The Westminster 
Confession is, as already stated, a document remarka- 
ble for its rhetorical skill, for its scholarly breadth, for 
its Christian devotion. No one can speak lightly of 
so historic, learned, and devout a Confession." Then 
he adds : "But these great creeds do not conserve doc- 
trines. The Westminster Confession does not secure 
unity now in the Presbyterian church ; during the past 
few years this great body of Christians has been sorely 
rent by violent theological discussions and questions of 
denominational polity. The Confession does not secure 
unity. It is powerless amid these divisions; indeed it 
often causes division rather than harmony. Its in- 
terpretation occasions wide difference of opinion, wider 
than the interpretation of the Scripture on which its 
teachings claim to be based. Of what practical gain 
are these creeds to-day ? The Baptist denomination 
has no creed, in the technical sense of the term, and 
yet, with its nearly 4,000,000 of members in America, 
it is more nearly a unit in faith and practice than are 



THE CREED NEEDED. 1 3 

the churches with their "long and strong creeds/' This 
is a fact which no intelligent student of current church 
history will deny. Better far is it to go at once 
to the Word of God as the rule of faith and practice, 
than to allow the creeds of fallible men, creeds which 
were the result often of unscriptural compromises, to 
come between the conscience and its God. 

The Creed that is Needed. 

What then is the creed we need? 

1. One that is Christ-made, not man-made. 

2. One that is binding. Only the Christ-made 
creed can be binding. 

3. One that expresses what one must believe to 
become and remain a member of a Baptist church. 
Anything more would be an infringement of the con- 
science. 

It seems to me that the real question is how little 
can one believe and still be a Baptist — one with us in 
this great work to which Christ has called us. 

4. Therefore we want a creed that will allow the 
greatest possible liberty of conscience, of interpreta- 
tion, and of expression. One that will permit a Bap- 
tist to hold and to express his opinion of the teaching 
of Scripture, and still be a Baptist. One that will 
allow him to be either a post-millenarian or a pre- 
millenarian and remain a Baptist. 

That will permit him to hold that the Scriptures 
teach that in the early days there was only one Bap- 
tist church in each city, or to hold that there was more 
than one, and retain his Baptist standing. 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

That will let him believe in Boards as the best method 
of spreading the truth of Christ, or to believe they 
are a hindrance rather than a help, and yet be con- 
sidered orthodox. That will permit a member of this 
conference to say that he believes that something more 
than a Confession of Faith is needed to express the 
Baptist position of to-day, and still he may be re- 
garded as a Baptist of fair standing. 

5. We heed a creed that sets forth the duty of Bap- 
tists and of Biaptist churches. That duty is to go 
everywhere, make disciples, baptize them, and train 
them. 

Where can such a creed be found? In the words 
of Christ to his followers, as we find them in the great 
commission. Notice the circumstances under which 
they were given. On the first day of his resurrection 
the angel said to the women, "Go quickly and tell his 
disciples, He is risen from the dead ; and lo, he goeth 
before you into Galilee ; so shall ye see him." As they 
went Jesus met them and said "Fear not! Go tell my 
brethren that they depart into Galilee, and there shall 
they see me." Then we learn that the eleven disci- 
ples went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus 
had appointed them, and then it was that he said unto 
them, "All authority hath been given unto me both in 
heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make 
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the 
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy 
Spirit ; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever 
I have commanded you; and lo. I am with you always, 
even unto the end of the world." The angel told the 
women to tell the disciples that Jesus wanted to meet 



THE GREAT COMMAND. 1 5 

them in Galilee ; Jesus told them the same thing. They 
met him at the appointed place. It was his only ap- 
pointment with them after his resurrection. It was 
just before he went back to heaven. He surely had a 
message of importance. It was about the completion 
of his work which he had begun. It was to be his 
instructions for all time. Surely he would leave out 
nothing of importance. He would burden it with 
nothing superfluous. He would gather into one short,* 
crisp saying all they would need to know and do. This 

* Remember ! The things that are written are essential. 
— Things not written are non-essential. 

he did. He gave his marching orders for his follow- 
ers for all times. It is complete, perfect. So it has 
been called "The Great Commission." It is Christ's 
propaganda. Remember his was a religion not for 
one nation, but for the whole human race. Therefore 
he would name only the essentials. The great prin- 
ciples which must needs be true of each individual 
for all time, leaving the non-essentials to care for 
themselves as the circumstances may demand. Bap- 
tists need to remember that they are going with a 
world-wide message, commissioned to go to every 
nation throughout all time. Therefore their creed 
which they put forth in his name must be like his, 
must be his. What he declared they must declare. 
What he made essential they must make essential. 
What he left to circumstances they must leave to cir- 
cumstances. His mission is their mission, his work 
their work. Nailing that great commission to the 
banner of the cross, they can take the world for their 
Lord and Christ. 



l6 INTRODUCTION. 

Of this great commission it can be said : 

1. The words are Christ's own, therefore they are 
not man-made, but Christ-made. 

2. Lying on the very surface are the things that 
one must believe and do to be a Baptist. Must be- 
lieve in missions, have personal faith in Jesus as the 
Christ, must be baptized, by immersion of course, 
must be loyal to the Word of God. 

3. It tells just what Christ wants Baptists to do. 
Go, make believers, baptize them, train them. 

4. It provides for the utmost loyalty to the Word 
of God. 

5. It provides for liberty of conscience. 

It is good for all time, never needs revision. It is 
binding because Christ-made. 

The Baptists had no other creed for 1600 years. 
They need no other now, but they do need that. If 
Baptists realized fully that this great mission in the 
world was to go everywhere and make disciples, then 
baptize them and train them as Christ commands; if 
they could be so absorbed in this as to forget all else 
as incidental, I believe that the statistics at our asso- 
ciations would tell a far different story to the glory of 
God's name. 

But would not such a creed need explanation? Yes. 
no doubt it would. But how could one present Jesus 
as the Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, 
without telling of his birth, life, death, resurrection, 
etc. Preaching the Christ would be the very best 
kind of explanation. The same would be true of bap- 
tism and in teaching them to observe all things that 
Christ has commanded. 



LOYALTY TO THE WORD. 1 7 

But the Confessions of Faith need explanation. We 
have special meetings in which nothing is done but to 
have chosen brethren to discuss one by one, the Articles 
of Faith in the New Hampshire Confession. 

The great commission as the Lord gave it to his 
followers who had met him by appointment there on 
the mountain in Galilee, is the creed that I prefer. I 
would be willing to adopt it word for word, just as 
they stand, letting them speak for themselves, along 
with the explanation that is necessary in carrying the 
Master's orders into execution. I am willing to adopt 
it as a binding creed for Baptists. I believe it would 
be the mightiest gain possible for bringing the world 
into the Baptist fold, which is Christ's fold. 

But if others insist on interpreting their meaning, 
for expediency's sake, I am willing to crystallize into 
words these necessary things that lie on the surface, 
viz. : 

1. Personal faith of heart and mind in Jesus as 
the Christ, the Son of God. 

2. The immersion in water of such believers into 
the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Spirit. 

3. Loyalty to the Word of God in faith and prac- 
tice. 

4. Missions. 

I favor this great commission for the Baptist creed, 
beoause I believe it was the "Original Baptist Creed." 

What is the gain in having the great commission 
for a creed? We would have a creed in the very 
words of Christ and that would make it binding. It 
would be so short and simple that all would know 



1 8 INTRODUCTION. 

what it stands for and it would prevent the present 
misunderstanding. It would be definite and yet elas- 
tic. It sets forth all that one needs believe to become 
a co-worker with us in doing Christ's great work. It 
leaves room for the greatest possible personal liberty. 
It would never need revising. It wtould avoid the 
looseness of the Disciple brethren who claim to take 
the Bible and yet point to nothing definite. It would 
furnish a new appeal and a basis of reunion. It 
holds us to the very words of Christ and avoids the 
danger of the traditions of men. Besides it puts mis- 
sions in the very forefront. 



BOOK ONE. 

"Contend earnestly for the faith." — Jude 3. 

"Produce your cause saith the Lord ; bring forth your strong 
reasons, saith the God of Jacob." — Isa. 41 : 21. 

"Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things 
do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them." — 
Isa. 42 : 9. 



PSALM I. 

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the 
ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in 
the seat of the scornful. 

2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his 
law doth he meditate day and night. 

3. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of wa- 
ter, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also 
shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 

4. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which 
the wind driveth away. 

5. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, 
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 

6. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous; but 
the way of the ungodly shall perish. 



THE CHURCH. 



It is the business of these pages to inquire into The 
Divine Church, and discover the help it offers to hu- 
manity, but to leave the historian with his pages to tell 
when and where men were busy staking life on a ref- 
ormation, and in church building. As proof that The 
Church is a leading question among men of to-day, I 
will refer to a sermon by Rev. Robert P. Kerr. D.D., 
of Richmond, Va., a Presbyterian divine. He says, in 
part : "At no time in the history of Christianity has the 
question, What is the Church? attracted so much at- 
tention as at the present day. In the earliest ages of 
Christianity the question was, What is Christ ? It was 
answered by the Nicene Council, A. D. 325, That He 
is God and Man. In the 16th century, the Reforma- 
tion period, the question was : How can man be saved ? 
It was answered, By faith in Christ alone. In our 
time the question before Christians is : "What is the 
Church?" Some answer in one way, some another. 
Where shall we go for the answer to the question, 
What is the Cfiurch? Answer : Go to Christ ; ask Him. 
What is the Church, according to Christ?" 

That is the object of these pages. Go to Christ and 
to Him alone. It is not my intention to go over the 
field so often explored by historians. I will give the 
result of an earnest investigation of the Bible as to 
"What is the church?" If it is not developed there in 
plain terms, we need not look for it in books of his- 



22 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

tory. A "Church of God" could not exist in history, 
if it does not exist in the Bible. If the Bible is not 
the Word of God — and if in the Bible God does not 
direct us to His worship, then anything as a religious 
system that will help a worshipper to set free his de- 
votional impulse, is as good as another, whether in 
Brahmanism, Judaism or Christianity. We, indeed, 
must "Go to Christ," where my heart has been lead- 
ing all my church life, and learn of him, "What is The 
Church?" All the books I could get, and newspaper 
items on the question, were welcome. I have sought 
out definitions on The Church. I wanted a brief, clear 
statement, one that would give an idea of a fixed con- 
tinuance. Most that I found as men's standard defini- 
tion were too long, an3 they all show that there is a 
church only while the people are assembled to wor- 
ship. They left me hungry for something better. 
Smith's Bible Dictionary, Holman's edition, says: — 
"Church — (Called) The Lord's faithful people. 
The Lord's house, where His people gather. A 
church is any number of souls called and united in 
one vow, in one place, for divine worship, where the 
pure word is preached and the sacraments duly ad- 
ministered, and godly living after His law as given by 
the Head of the Church — the Lord Jesus Christ. The 
Church in Galatia means all the societies or churches 
in that country." [Italics and capitals mine, employed 
to show a loose definition, that would authorize any 
assembly to cover themselves with the term church, if 
they have a little religious service in their meeting.] 

The second clause makes, to me, a very absurd defi- 
nition : "The Lord's house, where His people gather," 



pendleton's manual. 23 

as if houses and not people made a church. The body 
of the statement is quite faulty, as the idea is clear 
that, as soon as the people disperse, the churches are 
dissolved. The last definition gives us a notion of 
statehood by counties, which would destroy the inde- 
pendent democratic congregational service of the New 
Testament, and would merge them in fractional parts 
into a whole mass, under Bishop, Pope or some earthly 
leadership, very unlike the separateness of New Testa- 
ment churches. 

Pendleton's Manual. 

Rev. J. M. Pendleton, D.D., than whom none is more 
respected as an author among Baptists, says in his 
Church Manual, page 7 : "A church is a congregation 
of Christ's baptized disciples, acknowledging Him as 
their head, relying on His atoning sacrifice for justifi- 
cation, united in the belief of the Gospel, agreeing to 
maintain its ordinances and obey its precepts; meeting 
together for worship, and co-operating for the exten- 
sion of Christ's kingdom in the world." Any church 
that organizes under that definition would be accepted 
into any association of Baptist churches. But his defi- 
nition, like Smith's, is too lengthy; two places noted 
by italics, which are mine, do not seem to have the 
Bible idea of fixed continuance — it is a church only as 
assembled for a religious service in a "congregation." 
Some word, or brief sentence, that will help us in God's 
Word, to find the place, manner and time, and the par- 
ties — names and all — who were in the setting-up of 
the Church, will be, or ought to be, satisfying to all.* 

* Brief statements about the Church — bright and homely — come home to 
the mind as something fresh with comfort in them. Such as these: "A 
colony of heaven in this ruined earth." . . "It is a family where the Su- 
preme law is love." . . "The city of refuge for all souls fleeing from de- 
struction." . . "The dwelling place of the Spirit of God." — First Prin- 
ciples. 



24 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

Richard Fuller in his Terms of Communion, page 
178, says : "Church in our Bible means simply an as- 
sembly. As there stated it is applied in the New Testa- 
ment even to a tumultuous mob." 

Dr. Thayer's Lexicon. 

In Prof. Thayer's N. T. Lexicon, now open before 
us, here are the meaning given to ecclesia : "A gather- 
ing of citizens called out from their homes into some 
public place; an assembly." "1. an assembly of the 
people convened at the public place, &c." "2. the as- 
sembly of the Israelites, esp., when gathered for sacred 
purposes." "3. any gathering or throng of men as- 
sembled by chance or tumultuously." "4. in the 
Christian sense, a. an assembly of Christians gathered 
for worship." "&. a company of Christians." aa. those 
who anywhere, in city or village, constitute such a 
company and are united into one body." (C bb. the 
whole body of Christians scattered throughout the 
earth, collectively, all who worship and honor God and 
Christ in whatever place they may be." 



THE ROCK— PETER OR CHRIST? 

REV. C. E. W. DOBBS, D. D. 

In a recent issue of one of the most representative 
Protestant periodicals I read this sentence: "It must 
be candidly acknowledged that the Roman Catholics 
are right in their contention that the rock was Peter." 
But must it? One thing must be confessed and one 



THE ROCK — PETER OR CHRIST? 25 

only, and that is that the passage in question (Matt. 
16:18) has given rise to an endless amount of discus- 
sion. There are very few passages about which good 
and scholarly interpreters have more widely differed. 
Four leading opinions have been advocated. First, 
the Roman Catholics say that Peter, in his personality 
and apostolic primacy, is the permanent rock, and that 
the distinction passed to his supposed successors in the 
bishopric of Rome. Second, many Protestant inter- 
preters say that Peter is the rock — not personally, but 
representatively; that is, he answered Christ's inquiry 
concerning the Messiahship as the spokesman of the 
body of disciples, and received the assurance of the 
Master as such, each of the number sharing equally in 
the honor conferred. A third view is that Peter's con- 
fession or the truth confessed ("thou art the Christ") 
is the rock. The fourth interpretation says Christ 
Himself is the rock on which His Church is built. 

Even if we should agree that Peter is the rock, the 
Roman Catholic's pretensions would not follow. There 
is not the semblance of promise in the passage upon 
which the line of "popes," even supposing there is such 
a historic line, can base their claims. In his masterly 
commentary on Matthew, Dr. Broadus makes an un- 
answerable argument on this point. To maintain the 
papal primacy he shows that it would have been proved 
(1) that Peter alone was to be the founder of Chris- 
tianity; (2) that he was the vice-regent of God, and 
sovereign of all Christians; (3) that this supposed au- 
thority of Peter's was transmissible, and idea strangely 
inconsistent with the very image of corner-stone, to 
suppose it frequently removed and a new one substi- 



26 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

tuted; (4) that Peter lived and died in Rome, and wias 
the head of the Church there, of which there is no evi- 
dence at all, and Irenaeus and Eusebius agree in mak- 
ing Linus first bishop of that Church; (5) that Peter's 
supposed transmissible authority was actually trans- 
mitted to the leading official of the Church at Rome, 
and by him to his successors. Not one of these points 
have been proved to be true or historic. 



THE CHURCH AND THE KINGDOM. 

REV. W. T. WHITLEY, LL, D., 
PRESTON, ENG. 

"I will build my Church." 

This is the first place in the Bible where the word 
ecclesia, Church, occurs. What did our Lord mean by 
it? A Greek understood by the ecclesia of his city, a 
select body charged with the duties of protecting neigh- 
bors and dependents, of administering the affairs of 
the community, both at home and abroad, of train- 
ing younger members of the household to assume 
responsibilities at the proper time. To the purely 
}politi ; cial meaning, the Jew would add a religious tinge, 
derived from the use of the word in the Greek Scrip- 
tures for Israel in assembly as God's people — Acts 7 138. 
And whereas Greeks knew one ecclesia for each city, 
the Jew knew only one people of God. The Greek 
ecclesia was a select body, as its very name indicates, 
"called out" from the general population of the city — 



THE KINGDOM. 2J 

Acts 19:39-41. The Jewish ecclesia or congregation 
also was distinguished from the mixed multitude that 
hung on to its fringe — Exodus 12:38; from the 
strangers by its side — Exodus 12 47, 48, and from its 
own dependents — Joshua 9 :29. Those then, who heard 
this word from Christ's lips would think of a select 
body called out from the general mass for religious 
purposes, and distinguished by special duties. 

It was further described as Christ's Church, and as 
a body based on a recognition that Jesus of Nazareth 
was the longed for Messiah and Son of God. 

Paul recognized this historic beginning. In I. Cor. 
12:28 he mentioned as being in the Church, apostles, 
prophets, teachers, etc., ignoring law-givers and priests 
who were very important before Christ. In Col. 1:18 
he referred to Christ as head of the body, the Church, 
the beginning, the first-born from the dead. In Eph. 
2 :20 he spoke of the apostles and prophets as laying 
the foundation; and in Eph. 3:10, after marvelling at 
the eternity of God's intention to admit Gentiles as 
fellow-members, he added that the principalities and 
powers in the Heavenly places might learn from the 
Church the manifold wisdom of God now. 

In Heb. 12 :22-24, separate groups are mentioned as 
objects of attraction; innumerable hosts of angels, the 
general assembly and Church of the first-born who are 
enrolled in Heaven, and also the spirit of just men 
made perfect. Thus, to the Apostles and prophets of 
the New covenant, the Church was a new body. 

The Church then, is the whole body of people who, 
in this life, have known of an accepted Jesus as Saviour 
and have placed themselves at His disposal for pardon. 



28 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

improvement, employment. It began to be gathered 
from the resurrection, it will apparently be completed 
at the second advent, Matt. 16:27; 19:28; 24:30, 31; 
Luke 12:27; I. Thess. 1 :io; 3 :i3; 4:15-17; I. Cor.i 7; 
11:26; 15:23; Philippians 3:20; Heb. 9:28; I. Peter 
1 :y ; 5 14. Meanwhile it can not be assembled as a 
whole. The title should not be monopolized by a sin- 
gle living generation of Christians. Its use for a visi- 
ble community is warranted by Scripture in the case 
of a local assemblage as at Matt. 18:17. 

The Kingdom of Heaven will contain other groups 
besides the Church. Infants who have never com- 
mitted actual sin, heathen who have never heard on 
earth of the historic Jesus, just men like Abel, Enoch 
and Abraham, who lived in faith, members of the 
chosen nation from Moses onward; besides all those 
who heard of Jesus and yielded to Him. The prepara- 
tion of each group has been unique ; is it probable that 
all are to be merged indiscriminately into one, and that 
God, who has appointed to every member of the body 
its own duty, will not assign to each group its appro- 
priate service? 

Doubtless the saints before Christ had to awtait their 
forgiveness until His death — Rom. 3 :25, and can not 
be made perfect apart from us — Heb. 1 1 40 ; but we 
lack proof that all distinctions whatever are to be abol- 
ished. In Rom. 10:12 and Col. 3:11 only believers 
since Christ are contemplated. 

When body is united to the Head and Christ is 
complete in all His members, still there are others to be 
in subjection under His feet — Eph. 1 :22-23. When the 
Church is completely built for an inhabitation of God 



EKKLESIA. 29 

through the Spirit — Eph. 2 '.22 ; I. Peter 2 15 — is this to 
be the only object in the universe? When the holy 
priesthood assembles with its High Priest, are there 
no others who need their services — I. Peter 2:5, 9; 
Rev. 21:24] 22:4? When Christ takes His power and 
reigns over the Kingdom of God, is it not the glory of 
His Church as distinguished from mere subjects, that 
we reign with him — II. Tim. 2:12; I. Peter 2:9; Rev. 
5:10? 



WHAT IS THE MEANING OF ECCLESIA (CHURCH) 
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

A New Definition (1903). 

Prof, W. J. McGlothlin, Ph.D. 

The recent discussions of the general church in the 
Argus and elsewhere, have raised the question as to 
the meaning of the word ecclesia (church) in the New 
Testament. It seems to be generally assumed that 
ecclesia means an assembly and nothing else. Those 
who maintain the present existence of the general 
church assert that the saints are conceived of as as- 
sembled, and are therefore called an ecclesia or church. 
Those who deny the present existence of the general 
church affirm that it can not now exist, because the 
saints are not assembled and will not be assembled till 
they all gather around the throne on high. Assembly 
is the essential idea of ecclesia, and, therefore, there 
can be no actual ecclesia until there is an actual as- 
sembly. A few quotations from the recent literature 
of the subject will make this clear. "The church is 



30 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

not now in existence ... it can not be a church 
till it becomes an assembly, and that will not be till the 
end." "To make the word church mean anything else 
than an assembly changes its meaning ... In the 
case of the redeemed, as a church, it is impossible that 
it should be actually present, simply because they are 
not a church (i. e., an assembly) now and will not be 
till they are gathered in glory." "The ekklesia in 
Scripture always means an assembly." "The word 
church always, in Scripture, means assembly, and when 
it is figuratively applied to all the redeemed, they are 
considered in the aggregate as gathered in an assembly, 
and that is true of them only when the last soul is saved, 
and the redeemed are gathered in heaven." These 
quotations, to which others could be added, make it 
sufficiently clear that ecclesia in the New Testament 
means only an assembly, i. e., a body of people assem- 
bled together, and therefore the word ecclesia can not 
be applied to all the saints now, for the simple reason 
that they are not now assembled and will not be until 
the end. A present general church is an impossibility 
because a present general assembly is an impossibility. 
This is 



The Only Argument That is Produced. 

After the position has been supported by this argu- 
ment the Scripture is explained accordingly, but no 
other arguments are advanced. And I frankly admit 
that I can see no other conclusion if the premises are 
true. But is it true that ecclesia means an assembly 
necessarily and nothing else in the New Testament? 



EKKLESIA. 31 

If it be granted that it has this and no other meaning 
in classic and Septuagint Greek, does that prove that 
it has no other meaning in the New Testament? Does 
not every new application of a word modify its mean- 
ing? Did not Christianity give new shades of mean- 
ing to many Greek words, and may not ecclesia be one 
of them? Must we not determine the exact meaning 
of the word in the New Testament itself? There are 
more than one hundred such cases, enough to determine 
its meaning with reasonable exactness. 

Turning to these we find the word used once in its 
old classic sense of a regular municipal assembly (Acts 
j 9 : 39)j t> u t also of a disorderly mob (Acts 19:32, 40) 
which is not classic usage. Turning to the Christian 
usage of the word we find it applied beyond all ques- 
tion to a Christian assembly (I. Cor. 14:19, 28, 34, 35; 
probably I. Cor. 14:4, 5, 12, Col. 4:16, and a few 
others). But a careful examination of all the exam- 
ples of its use in the New Testament has led to the 
conclusion that this is not its meaning in the great ma- 
jority of cases. Only a few passages can be cited here. 
"Saul laid waste the church, entering into every house 
and dragging men and women committed them to 
prison" (Acts 8:3). It was not an assembly which 
Paul here laid waste, but the Christian community, for 
it is expressly said that he entered into their homes and 
dragged them out. "For I am the least of the apostles 
. . . because I persecuted the Church of God" 
(I. Cor. 15:9; cf. Gal. 1:13; Phil. 3:6). Now Paul 
persecuted not an assembly, but Christian people who 
did at times assemble. "So the church (revised ver- 
sion) throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria 



32 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

had peace'' (Acts 9:31). An assembly could not ex- 
tend over the wide stretches of territory here mentioned. 
Ecclesia does not here mean an assembly, but the Chris- 
tian people who were scattered abroad in those regions. 
"If, therefore, the whole church be assembled to- 
gether," etc. (I. Cor. 14:23), the assumption is that 
the church is not always assembled. Where ecclesia 
is used of a local body as "the church at Corinth," "the 
church at Antioch," "the church at Jerusalem," etc., 
it is clear in most cases that it does not mean an as- 
sembly, but the Christian community. Examples could 
be multiplied, but any one who will take his concor- 
dance and go through the New Testament studying 
the word church will soon be convinced of the correct- 
ness of this position. If ecclesia means only an assem- 
bly, what becomes of the churches when they are not 
assembled ? 

Does the Benediction Disorganize the Church ? 

Since few, perhaps none, of our churches are ever 
completely assembled, one is impelled to ask whether we 
have any churches. One of the churches in Louisville 
has members who are missionaries in China. Is it any 
the less a church for that reason ? One of the churches 
in Louisville, it is said, has sixteen hundred members. 
They meet for worship at different places and have 
probably never been all assembled. Is it any the less a 
church for that reason ? Did the churches of Corinth, 
Ephesus, Jerusalem exist only when assembled? No- 
body would claim that, and yet strenuous insistence on 
the meaning assembly makes such a conclusion abso- 



LOCAL EKKLESIA. 33 

lutely inevitable. In my opinion ecclesia in most cases 
in the New Testament means, not an assembly, but a 
body or community of saints, most of whom do at times 
assemble. The Greek ecclesia adjourned sine die, the 
Christian ecclesia does not; the Greek ecclesia was an 
assembly, the Christian ecclesia is a body of Christian 
people, most of whom do at times assemble. The offi- 
cers of a Christian ecclesia are not those of an assem- 
bly, i. e., president, etc., but those of a living, active 
community, i. e., pastor (shepherd) or bishop (guar- 
dian, overseer) and deacon (minister or servant). No, 
the Christian ecclesia is not an assembly, but a living, 
active community. Insistence on the meaning assem- 
bly 

Makes the Local Church Forever an Impossibility, 

as it makes the general church an impossibility until 
eternity. Now, if this conception of the meaning of 
ecclesia is correct, it overthrows the most powerful 
argument — it might almost be said the only argument — 
against the present existence of the general church. 
It, too, is a body, rather the body, of saints now scat- 
tered abroad, some of whom do assemble together, and 
all of whom shall assemble together by and by. The 
analogy becomes all the more striking when we remem- 
ber that the larger New Testament churches had sev- 
eral thousand members and, therefore, probably never 
attempted to assemble as a whole, but met in groups 
and sections. 

The church at Jerusalem had 5,000 men (Acts 4:4) 
and probably had many women, and yet it was the 



34 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

ecclesia of Jerusalem. It will be agreed, I think, that 
we must define the word ecclesia by its local use and 
then apply that meaning substantially to the general 
church. I repeat, then, the conviction that the insist- 
ence, of the idea of an assembly as the exclusive mean- 
ing of ekklesia in the New Testament makes the local 
church forever an impossibility, as it makes the general 
church an impossibility until eternity. That theory 
which is seeking to protect and exalt the local church 
becomes its destroyer. 

But ecclesia does not mean assembly exclusively and, 
therefore, there is nothing in the meaning or use of the 
word which prevents belief in the present existence of 
the general church. If it be said that the local ecclesia 
is conceived of as assembled, it may be replied that the 
same is true of the general ecclesia, and if this fact 
does not present the actual existence of the local ec- 
clesia neither does it prohibit the actual existence of the 
general ecclesia. 

It is further contended by those who oppose belief in 
the present existence of the general church, that the 
last of the elect must be actually gathered into heaven 
before the saints can be called an ecclesia. The num- 
ber must be complete before it is an ecclesia. But why? 
This is not true of the local churches. Some of our 
Kentucky churches have been faithful Baptist churches 
for more than a century and continue so, and still the 
whole number of their membership is not yet complete, 
as I hope. Is it not a departure from the established 
New Testament usage of the word ecclesia to fix upon 
a number who are necessary to constitute a church. It 
seems to me that sound canons of exegesis require that 



LOCAL EKKLESIA. 35 

we use the word in its general application in substan- 
tially the same sense as it has in the local body. For 
this and nothing more I plead. 

The effort to make the word ecclesia in its general 
sense applicable only to the saints in heaven is strange 
in the light of New Testament usage. Of the hun- 
dred and more examples of the word in the New Testa- 
ment only one expressly connects it with heaven, Heb. 
12 :23 : "Ye are come ... to the general assembly 
and church of the first-born who are enrolled in 
heaven." The "church" is composed of "first-born 
ones who are enrolled in heaven." This does not neces- 
sarily mean that they are already in heaven as the idea 
that the saints on earth are already enrolled in heaven 
is a common one in the New Testament. This passage 
of doubtful meaning is the only one that directly con- 
nects the word ecclesia with heaven at all. Again, if 
the word in its general sense is to be applied only to 
the saints in heaven, it is remarkable that in the book 
of Revelation, where the glories of heaven are pictured 
as nowhere else, the assembled hosts of the redeemed 
are not once called an ecclesia, church. 

This fact calls for explanation on the part of those 
who deny the present existence of the general church, 
and claim that the saints in heaven are to be called an 
ecclesia. For it must be borne in mind that the dis- 
cussion is not concerning the existence of a thing, but 
concerning the application of a name. All of us be- 
lieve that there are now saints living on earth, that 
there are saints who have passed on before, that many 
yet to be born will be saints and that all these saints 
will be gathered around the throne. The question at 



36 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

issue is, when and where the name ecclesia, church, is 
applied to all the saints? The question is not about 
some mystic being whose existence some deny and 
others affirm. The church does not exist apart from 
the saints. About the saints there is no question. The 
question is about naming them. Can't we seek light 
here without over mutch heat? 

In the spring of 1893 I was attending a fifth Sunday 
meeting at Manor, near Austin, Texas. I with most 
of the ministers present, were given a home with a 
deacon who was also a lawyer. Hie was in his native 
element when asking questions hard to answer. Not 
knowing the man, I was less reserved in making reply 
to hard questions than were the other guests. He led 
up to The Church in his questions. To my answers he 
made me think of him as a heartless iconoclast. But 
after some time to think over the theme, I had an en- 
larged view as to the meaning of the word "Church." 
He asked for my definition of "Church — a true defi- 
nition, clear in its statement." I had begun to feel un- 
willing to be responsible for anything before that man, 
who seemed to be a cruel fault-finder. To evade him 
I quoted Dr. Pendleton. 

"You do not fully accept Dr. Pendleton, I'm sure," 
he said. "A church is an assembly of baptized be- 
lievers in a congregation for worship. The assembly 
will disperse after the 'Benediction/ and then you will 
have no congregation, no assembly, no church. Yours 
and Dr. Pendleton's definition does a violence to Christ's 
church; you break it up with a benediction, when 
Christ said, the gates of hell shall not prevail against 



THE WORD "CHURCH. 37 

it. Your benediction must be more effective than the 
promise of Christ." 

In my remonstrance I said, "O, brother lawyer, go 
out in your town, raise a difference with a citizen, your 
brother deacon, swear at him, draw a razor and carve 
him. Next Wednesday night in conference you will 
learn that there is a church here in Manor this after- 
noon, existing now. And they will hold you up re- 
sponsible to them for your conduct all the days between 
'Business Meetings.' " I thought that statement would 
demolish his thrust, but a twinkle in his eye said, 
plainly, "I am coming again." 

"Your observation is just and true, Mr. Mann," said 
he, "and it proves that your definition of 'Church' is 
not true. The power and authority used by the church 
shows that after it is organized that it is in incessant, 
continuous existence, whether assembled in a congre- 
gation or dispersed. You preachers — somebody — 
should make a definition of 'church' such that, your 
dismission does not mean a dissolution." 

The word church is used in the New Testament one 
hundred and fourteen times. Five times, to denote an 
unruly mob, as when they cried, "Great is Diana of 
the Ephesians ;" fourteen times in a general way, as the 
"General assembly of the First-born." In ninety-five 
places it is used to speak of, in a specific way, a com- 
pany of people who are in covenant relation or bond of 
union in Christ. 

A company of soldiers don't have to be in line of bat- 
tle all the time to be soldiers, neither on the parade 



THE FIRST CHURCH. 



ground. Their band or bond of union makes them 
soldiers all the time, ready for duty at the sound of 
the bugle. And so of the Church — "Called to be 
saints" all the time, without reference to congregating. 

The prophet Isaiah 62:12 gives a fine setting to the 
word. He said: "And they shall call them, 

"(1) The holy people, 

"(2) The redeemed of the Lord. 

"(3) And thou shalt be called, sought out. 

"(4) A city not forsaken." 

With these definitions before us we may be able to 
trace out the meaning of the word, as the work went on 
under John and Christ in their building and how the 
"calling out" and separation went on. We will then 
have an infallible model by which to build to-day. John 
preached "Repentance" to the multitudes, and those 
who "heard" him were required to "Bring forth fruit 
worthy of repentance" and such were baptized. Re- 
pentance was then revealed as a "Foundation principle" 
among the primary causes of effect. Their "repent- 
ance," fruit and faith, and baptism, put them on the 
other side of something. They passed out of some- 
thing into something. Into what? The kingdom? 
They were still in, and amenable as citizens to the same 
political kingdom after baptism as before baptism, 
which did not effect their earthly citizenship. Into 
what kingdom, then did baptism change them? The 
kingdom of heaven ? Then were they made citizens of 
the kingdom of heaven, while left in the world as world 
citizens, giving a double citizenship. Under this work- 
ing out the meaning by John, we might give as a defi- 
nition of "church" without any violence — as 



CALLED OUT. 39 

To Call Out from Among Others. 

John was baptizing a people out of and from among 
the Jewish nation into a state or kingdom a people 
"Made ready for the Lord," a new state for mankind. 
A few months later Jesus appeared on the scene, and 
demanded baptism of John in the same manner as 
he had given it to all other Jews. Jesus had lived and 
served as a citizen of the Jewish nation, and while He 
was "The Christ," He demanded baptism as Mary's 
son to get the human transfer by baptism into the state 
other people had been placed by it. Out of and from 
among those transferred by John by baptism, Christ 
made a selection of twelve men (Acts 1:21-22), and 
He and they paid tribute (Matt. 17:24-27) with "a 
piece of money," showing that they were all still citi- 
zens of the world (John 17: 15), subject to powers 
apart from their discipleship. In a submission to John's 
baptism, Christ proved it to be from heaven, and put 
them together in the same mission. Both were sent, 
not to do their own will, but "The will of Him who sent 
Me"— (John 4:34; 6:38; 17:4; 19:30). Therefore, 
their work was "A called out," "Ordained" (John 15: 
16) work of a kingdom and a church. God called both 
John and Christ out of heaven into the world to do a 
certain work in the Ayorld, and were therefore as truly 
"called out" as was the church itself. John called out, 
but he did not ordain ; hence a higher work of seeking, 
selecting and ordaining a progressive church was in the 
hands of Christ, and He began His "calling out" in 
the words "Follow Me," which was said to Peter, An- 
drew, John and James while they were fishing in the 



4° THE FIRST CHURCH. 

waters of the Galilee. Matt. 4 : 18-22. See Mark 3 1^3- 
14, and 19; Luke 6:12-16. 

"And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two 
brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother 
casting a net into the sea : for they were fishers. And 
he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will miake you 
fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, 
and followed him,. And going on from thence, he 
saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and 
John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, 
mending their nets ; and he called them. And they im- 
mediately left the ship and their father, and followed 
him.— (Matt. 4:18-22.) 

"And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto 
him whom he would; and they came unto him,. And 
he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and 
that he might send them forth to preach. * * * 

********* an( j they went into 
an house." — (Mark 3:13-14, 19.) 

"And it came to pass in those days, that he went out 
into a mountain to pray, land continued all night in 
prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto 
him his disciples : and of them he chose twelve, whom 
also he named apostles; Simon, (whom he also named 
Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, 
Philip and Bartholomew), Matthew and Thomas, 
James, the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes. 
And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot 
which also was the traitor."- — (Luke 6:12-16.) 

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for their's is the 
kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: 



PROPHECIES FULFILLED. 41 

for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: 
for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they 
which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for 
they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful : for 
they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in 
heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peace- 
makers : for they shall be called the children of God, 
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteous- 
ness' sake : for their's is the kingdom of heaven. 
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and perse- 
cute you and shall say iall manner of evil against you 
falsely for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: 
for great is your reward in heaven : for so persecuted 
they the prophets which were before you. Ye are the 
salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost his savour, 
wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good 
for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden un- 
der foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A 
city that is set on an hill can not be hid. Neither do 
men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a 
candlestick ; and it giveth light unto all that are in the 
house. Let your light so shine before men, that they 
mlay see your good works, and glorify your Father 
which is in heaven." — (Matt. 5:13-16.) 

These four Scriptures are a fulfillment of Isa. 2:2 
and Micah 4:1. 

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the 
mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in 
the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the 
hills; and all nations shall flow unto it." — (Isa. 2:2.) 



42 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

"But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the 
mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established 
in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted 
above the hills ; and the people shall flow unto it" — 
(Micah 4:1.) 

This call to these four men completed the prophecy. 
"Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, 
and they shall fish them, and after will I send for 
many hunters, and they shall hunt from every moun- 
tain and from every hill." The hunters were, prob- 
ably, Matthew and Judas Iscariot, who were hunting 
tribute for Caesar. — Jer. 16:16. 

It has been urgently said that John the Baptist could 
not give scriptural nor Christian baptism, as he was not 
in the kingdom nor the church of God. 

Very good, to all who believe that statement, we 
would ask — In what, was John, and what kind of bap- 
tism did he give ? Is he not in the Scripture narrative. 
And are not the same "foundation doctrines" preached 
by him still a part of the New Testament doctrines? 
See Matt. 3 ; Mark 1 ; John 3 ; Acts 20 -.20, 21 ; Heb. 6:1. 
We must, in our search for truth, let only witnesses to 
the truth bear witness. We must accept all of the 
Bible as God's Word, telling the truth, whether is was 
spoken by a devil, a man, an angel or God and His 
Christ. If we accept the Bible as true, then there is no 
better book to give true testimony. There is one very 
important thing to notice. It is this : John and Jesus 
were equal as subjects of prophecy by both prophet and 
angel. 

The testimony begins this way: "The beginning of 
the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is 



A GOSPEL BAPTISM. 43 

written in the prophets. 'Behold I send My (God's) 
messenger before thy (Christ's) face. Which shall 
prepare thy (Christ's) way before thee." Mai. 3:1. 
Query : Was John doing that preparatory work in the 
kingdom, in the church or in the world? If in neither 
the church nor kingdom, in what was he, when doing 
that preparatory work? "The voice of one crying in 
the wilderness, 'Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make 
His paths straight.'" Isa. 40:3. In Mark 1:1-3 he 
uses the words of both prophets — Isaiah and Malachi 
— to prove their fulfillment and to show when the Gos- 
pel of Jesus Christ began. Query : Could John preach 
the "Beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ" with- 
out being in the gospel ? Then, if John was in the gos- 
pel and preached the "Beginning of the gospel," is it 
not possible that he gave "A gospel baptism?" Is not 
baptism in the very beginning of the gospel? Our 
baptism of to-day is called Christian baptism. Is it 
not still a gospel baptism? Who can give one verse 
commanding a changed or a new baptism later than 
John's baptism, and it, like John's baptism, to be from 
heaven? Now as to angels' prophecy, hear Luke 
1:13-17, which says: "But the angel said unto him. 
'fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard, and thy 
wife, Elizabeth, shall bear thee a son and thou shalt 
call his name John * * * For he shall be great 
in the sight of the Lord * * * and shall be filled 
with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb. And 
many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the 
Lord their God, and make ready a people prepared for 
the Lord.' " As the prophets had foretold of this 
event, so did the angel. And gave the name John, 



44 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

by which to call the promised son, as well as to tell 
his mission. Surely then, John's birth was as much 
a miracle as was the birth of Jesus Himself. Surely 
John brought baptism as introductory to the kingdom. 
Was it then a part of the kingdom, or made such later? 
John never 'had any baptism, unless it was the baptism 
of authority, "Being filled with the Holy Ghost." May 
we ask if the Holy Ghost was personified in John, was 
John's baptism a work of the Holy Ghost ? The triune 
God met in a common cause at the baptism of Christ, 
and the records do not show all three ever having a 
common meeting on earth before nor since. John in- 
troduced some elementary fundamental principles 
which underlie all gospel preaching. They were: 
Preaching, Hearing, B'elieving, Repentance, Faith and 
Confession offered "In the name of Him who cometh 
after me." Only the slightest difference as to point of 
view. Then it was a Prospective Christ. Now it is a 
Retrospective Christ. Did not John's baptism reveal 
the kingdom and set men apart in it? Their baptism 
was not salvation. "I am not the Christ.'' My bap- 
tism is only preparatory for you. "But when He is 
come He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and 
with fire." Those who believe me, on the Christ 
when He comes, shall have the Holy Ghost baptism 
just as ye shall see it come on Him after His baptism. 
Those who will not believe me nor the Christ shall be 
baptized in, and burnt with unquenchable fire." 

John's coming was a twilight splendor of a beautiful 
opening day. Christ came ushering in the beauties of a 
clear morning sun that continued to ascend unto the 
zenith, reaching it at Pentecost. 



CHRIST S SERMON. 45 

Kingdom At Hand. 

This kingdom which John preached (Matt. 3:2) as 
"at hand," means "The kingdom approaches." For 
John was in the territory of the king to announce to the 
king's subjects his approach in his own borders. John 
as a surveyor, had staked out the boundaries of the 
kingdom as hearing, believing, repentance, faith, con- 
fession by the mouth and baptism. And when Jesus 
came, said: "The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom 
of God is at hand," or more properly, "The kingdom 
has arrived and is set up." Let us read : 

16. And He came to Nazareth where He had been 
brought up ; and, as His custom was, He went into the 
synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read. 

17. And there was delivered unto Him the book of 
the prophet Esaias. And when He had opened the 
book, he found the place where it was written. 

18. The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He 
hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor ; He 
hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach de- 
liverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the 
blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. 

19. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 

20. And He closed the book, and He gave it again 
to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all of 
them that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him, 

21. And He began to say unto them, This day is 
this Scripture fulfilled in your ears. Luke 4:16-21. 

Here is a prophecy of Christ by Isaiah which Jesus 
declared was fulfilled that day and not four years later 



46 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

at Pentecost. The kingdom of God, according to the 
prophets, has been "set up" ready to receive subjects^ 
and is now fulfilled in your ears. Enter in. "From 
the days of John the Baptist until now men have gone 
into that kingdom and taken it by force." 

If John and Jesus brought Baptism, The Kingdom of 
God, and the Church of God from heaven, is it not a 
most reasonable faith to believe these two were in 
the church and kingdom? Consult Matt. 1:18-21; 
Luke 1 M3-38; John 1 131-34; 4:34-38; 5 :3i-3& 

John the Baptist came under prophets' eyes and was 
a subject of promise by them. An angel was sent from 
heaven, a special messenger, to promise the early com- 
ing of John. 

John, as the fore-runner of Christ, said: "He that 
sent me to baptize, with water the same, said unto me, 
'Upon whom thou shalt, see the Spirit descending and 
remaining on him, the same is he which shall baptize 
with the Holy Spirit/ " Christ said that John's 
baptism came from heaven. Did not John and his mis- 
sion and Christ and his mission come from the same 
place? 

Christ also came under prophets' eyes, and was a 
subject of promise. He was commanded several times 
by the prophets to build a church. 

An angel, as a messenger from heaven, came to an- 
nounce the coming of Christ, also in the same manner 
as that which foretold the coming of John. Christ 
said : "I come not to do my own will, but the will of 
him that sent me." The question is, then, what was 
that will? 



CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 47 

We see Christ building a church in answer to the 
prophets' command. John's greatest joy was that he 
could see Christ in the midst of this church. Christ 
said, "whatsoever the son seeth the father do, that doeth 
the son also. ,, 

God made a world, Christ made a world ; result, one 
world. God made a man, Christ made a man ; result, 
one man. God made a church, Christ made a church ; 
result, one church. 

Now, if John and Christ came from the same place, 
to the same place, for the same purpose, were they not 
nebulae members of that church, fully developed in 
heaven before their birth? Were they not as a hazy, 
light cloud, in their nebulous state in heaven? 

Jesus had "ordained the twelve apostles" as the 
first members of the First Church, in its ordained 
work on the earth? 

If these five Scriptures do not teach both John and 
Christ came from heaven bringing their authority with 
them, what do they show? Can the Grand Lodge of 
Masons send a man to lecture and organize Masonic 
lodges who is not a member of the Masonic fraternity ? 
John's baptism was never changed because there was 
never a need for a change to this day of a gift from 
heaven. If there was, do we not need a change of 
Christ? 

There is one thing of interest that all readers of the 
New Testament should want to know, viz: If John 
was neither in a church, nor in the Kingdom of God, 
then in what was his baptism? Scribes, Pharisees, 
elders, lawyers and priests rejected John's baptism as 
no part of the Mosaic economy ! And if John's bap* 



48 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

tism was not Christian baptism, why did Jesus accept it? 
If it was not Christian baptism who will tell us where 
and How the church got Christian baptism. If John's 
baptism was not Christian baptism why is the world at 
war about John's baptism? and of what is it a part to- 
day ? Is it possible that God would send baptism from 
heaven by His Spirit, clothed in the body of John the 
Baptist, and not send his kingdom along with it? If 
John came by the Spirit merely to reveal Jesus by 
baptism, who was both King of the Kingdom and head 
over the church, did the church and kingdom receive 
their baptism in the person of Jesus or of John? If 
Jesus and His church got any other baptism, was it not 
given by John, and is not the record of it found in 
John's Gospel 3 123 ? 

Gospel Preaching. 

Some of my friends think the gospel was never 
preached until the day of Pentecost. Compare Isaiah 
61:1-2, with Luke 4:16-21. Jesus said: "This day," 
and not three years later at Pentecost, that He was 
sent to preach the acceptable year! That year A. D. 
.30, and not A. D. 33. Mark 1 :i shows a full gospel, 
"This Day." 

Gospel of the kingdom is only a soft lingual idio- 
matic expression of the possessive case. — The king- 
dom's Gospel. Christ changed the expression and 
said : "The time is fulfilled." "The gospel's kingdom is 
now here." 

John baptized under the influence of the Holy Spirit, 
with which he was filled. Christ came "driven of the 



BAPTISM OF JESUS. 49 

Spirit" of his own accord to "do the will of God" in 
accepting John's baptism, which was sealed by the 
Spirit and approved of God. Then the order stood 
thus: I. Administrator. 2. Subject of baptism. 
3. "Spirit's sealing." 4. Prayer by the subject. 5. A 
"Delighted Father" who was "well pleased" by what 
the Son did. In the commission the five characters re- 
main, the order of the Trinity only is changed. Per- 
haps that was to show how each one appeared in the 
work of redemption, and the continuity of each at work 
in the order as given in the commission. 

Jesus' Baptism. 

When Jesus was baptized His own ardent consent 
was in it, that he might "do the will of him that sent 
me." Therefore the "righteousness it becometh us to 
fulfill" in Christ's baptism was willed by God the 
Father. Obedience to God's will is "righteousness." 
which was required of Christ as; rt The Son of Man." 
Then God wills that every one should be baptized ; as it 
gives "the complement of the rnind" and becomes "an 
act of righteousness." God was "pleased" in Christ's 
obedience. The Holy Spirit sealed it by resting upon 
Him. God the Father approved it, for H\e said : "This 
is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased." The 
three Christianized John's work and made it Christian 
baptism, it being done by a common consent of the four 
parties who were interested in the deed, and had the 
approval of Son, Spirit and Father. In the Commis- 
sion the same baptism introduced into the work by 
John was continued. If not, show us where a change 



5C THE FIRST CHURCH. 

was made to some other baptism and show what it is. 
The formula being changed from Son, Spirit and 
Father, to Father, Son and Spirit in the same act that 
was delivered by John. 

We must proceed in looking up the Church in this 
manner. Read the New Testament as a hidden book 
in the Old, and read the Old Testament as revealed in 
the New. In reading the Old, to begin the research we 
will take Isaiah, as he had the brightest revelations as 
to the future church and its "Glorious Lord." A 
greater part of what he wrote relates to the Church 
and of Christ. Read his soft, sweet strain in making 
a definition of the Church: "They shall be called the 
holy people; the redeemed of the Lord. Thou shalt 
be called Sought Out. A city not forsaken." — 62:12. 
Here are four brief, clear and distinct definitions of the 
church, showing continued, unbroken existence, an idea 
not clear in definitions given. 

Christ said to his disciples, nearly in the prophet's 
words, "A city that is set on an hill can not be hid." 
Matthew 5 :i4. This shows that the Church is not a 
periodic body, having only an occasional assembly, 
or congregation for worship, but has the fixedness of a 
city. Let us return again to the prophet's "Sought 
out City," and see how it was found. "And Jesus 
walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon 
called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net 
into the sea; for they were fishers. And he said unto 
them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of 
men. And they straightway left their nejts and 
followed Him. And going on from thence, He saw 
two other brethren, James, the son of Zebedee, and 



BRIDE CHAMBER. 5 1 

John, his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their 
father, mending their nets, and He called them. And 
immediately they left the ship and their father, and 
followed Him." Matthew 4:18-22. This passage 
shows where, how and who were the first sought out. 
The where, was by the Sea of Galilee. The when, in 
lifetime of Christ, the first year of His ministry. The 
how, He was walking, seeking, finding and calling. The 
four promptly bounded "out" after Him in response to 
His call. "Follow Me," as the thing "sought out." 

This selection was after Jesus' temptation. He had 
changed his home from Nazareth to Capernaum. Seven 
or eight months doubtless intervened between his bap- 
tism and this call. These men immediately laid down 
a worldly occupation to take up a heavenly at the call 
of Jesus, thus exemplifying how quickly we should 
obey, when Jesus says "Follow Me/' See Matt. 
4:18-22; John 1:43-45. From his own city Jesus 
passed by and saw Matthew sitting at receipt of customs 
and called him. This was perhaps at about the close 
of the first year after his baptism, when he completed 
the list of disciples to twelve. After he had spent a 
night in prayer. The Church at this period seems to 
have been under a final examination by John as to 

Bride Chamber 

what it was. Bride Chamber was the first title by 
which John called the church. A most significant 
name certainly. If a sinner is not united to Jesus in the 
church, where are they united? It was a "New Name." 
Christ called himself "The Bridegroom." But Christ 



52 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

changed the title given by John from "Bride Chamber" 
to "Bottle," to denote its capacity for receiving and 
holding the "new wine" members put in it, and to show 
that they are not under the "Old cloth" state of "doing 
the law/' but the "new cloth' 9 of salvation, Christ 
having made all things new to them — "Bottled" up in 
that "Bride Chamber," and thus "Both are Preserved" 
God's preserves.* 

♦Bottles were used for confining grape juice until it could ferment jorga- 
nize) into wine, hence "Bottle" is a figure of church. Bottled up— organiz- 
ed, and the new cloth in that statement is [the figure of salvation by grace 
and not of the 4, old garment" as "Deeds of the law" for salvation. 

Place To Establish Church. 

There was also a prophetic place for the completion 
of the church. We must return again to the prophet 
and learn about the completion, and where it must be. 
"And it shall come to pass in the last days that the 
mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in 
the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the 
hills, and all nations shall flow unto it, and many people 
shall go and say : Come ye and let us go up to the moun- 
tains of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; 
and He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in 
the paths, for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the 
word of the Lord from Jerusalem." Isa. 2 :2, 3 ; Micah 
4:1, 2. 

Isaiah twice calls the church a house, and says it shall 
be established on the top of the mountain. The paral- 
lel to this is in Mark 3:13, 14: "And he goeth up 
into a mountain and calleth unto him whom he would. 
And they came unto him and he ordained twelve that 
they might be with him and that he might send them 



PLACE TO ESTABLISH CHURCH. 53 

forth to preach and to have power to heal sickness, 
and to cast out devils." This completes the prophecy. 
Verses 16-19 gives an orderly record of their names, 
and concludes the narrative by this statement: "And 
they went into an house." Was it Isaiah's "house," 
church? This indicates the completion of the church, 
which was on one of the "tops of a mountain" near 
"His own city" — Capernaum. Jesus began preach- 
ing on a mountain and organized His Church on 
one, and it is possible that on the same "mountain top" 
both events took place. Matt. 5:1-8: "And seeing the 
multitudes, he went up into a mountain : and when he 
was set, his disciples came unto him. And he opened 
his mouth, and taught them saying, Blessed are the" 
etc. — Luke 6:12-13: "And it came to pass in those 
days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and 
continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was 
day he called unto him His disciples : and of them he 
chose twelve, whom he named apostles." I. Cor. 
12:28: "And God hath set some in the church, first 
apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after 
that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, govern- 
ments, diversities of tongues." 

It is now in order to read the rapturous strains of 
gladness flowing out of Isaiah's soul over a complete 
church under the guiding hand of "The Glorious 
Lord." He said: "Look upon Zion, the city of our 
solemnities; thine eyes shall see Jerusalem, a 
quiet habitation. A tabernacle that shall not be 
Haken down/ not one of the stakes thereof shall ever 
be removed, neither shall any of the chords thereof be 
broken. But the Glorious Lord will be unto us a 



54 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

place of broad rivers and streams. '* * For 

the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the 
Lord is our King ; He will save us," Isaiah 33 '.20-22 ; 
and its counterpart in the New Testament says : "There 
is one lawgiver who is able to save and destroy." 
Jas. 4:12. 

Twelve Reasons Why the Church Was Established. 

Let us find some reasons why the church was com- 
plete when Christ chose all the disciples and called 
them Apostles. 

First. Christ never added any other names to that 
list. 

2d. He spent the night in prayer before He com- 
pleted it. 

3d. If John's testimony is good in one thing — the 
presence of Christ — it must be in the other, Christ 
having a church. He said: "He that hath the bride 
is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom 
which standeth and heareth him, rejoices greatly be- 
cause of the bridrgioom's voice. This my joy there- 
fore is fulfilled." John 3 129. John's joy was that 
Christ had a bride — church. 

4th. Christ said: Matt. 5:14 "Ye are the light of 
the world" — "a lighted candle," and put into a candle- 
stick — church — into which the twelve were grouped. 
Rev. 1 :2c 

5th. Every organization must be completed with a 
set of officers to carry out the design of organization. 

6th. Their official title was given them that day — 
Apostles — which means sent, and they have been 
known by that title till now. 



TWELVE REASONS. 55 

7th. They were endowed with four powers to carry 
out the purposes of Christ: first, to be with Him; 
second, to go forth and preach ; third, to heal sickness ; 
and fourth, to cast out devils. 

8th. Execution of these four powers took up all 
their time to the end of life. 

9th. Their power to perform miracles could be 
transmitted to any on whom they laid hands, but was 
never re-transmitted ; hence, their title and power ended 
in them. 

10th. Without a treasury and treasurer they would 
be an incomplete body. They had such. John 12:6; 

13:29. 

nth. They were the first organized body with a 
constitution — compare your state constitution with the 
laws on the statute book. Then compare all in the 
New Testament with the Sermon on the Mount and 
note the similarity. 

12th. There was never any enlargement of the 
power and dignity conferred upon them that day, 
and their first commission restraind them to Judean 
limits during Christ's lifetime. A number of 
friends have raised a point against that setting up of 
the church, suggesting that the disciples were not 
filled with the Holy Ghost — that they had no power 
to preach, receive members nor organize ia church, 
until they were "endued with power from on High at 
Pentecost." I have failed to find in God's (Word 
where men in that or any other day were authorized 
to found or build a church. Christ had appointed unto 
His Apostles a "kingdom in which they should eat and 
drink," and said, "Occupy till I come/' thus shutting 



56 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

off the need or room for any other church. Therefore 
any attempt at founding a church by any man or set 
of men is a contribution to Christ's failure as a church 
builder, in which to meet the world's need of a church. 

A Bloodless Church. 

"Jesus had not died, and the church was a bloodless 
church, if it was set up as you represent in that claim/' 
said a disciple, or disciple. 

It was "occupation" and not church-building that 
bound them in waiting -at Jerusalem, to receive an "en- 
duement to witness/' but not to build churches ! As 
to the church being a "Bloodless" church when it was 
organized on the "top of the mountain," why yes, 
the prophets did not require Blood in church-building 
but they did require Blood in Salvation. Blood be- 
fore baptism. They required "Blood for remission of 
sin," through which to bring up to baptism into the 
church and to the Lord's Supper. Baptism was visibly 
established before the church was visibly established. 
The church had a visible presence before the Lord's 
Supper was established, and the Cross was established 
before the Blood was spilled from the veins of Christ. 
But, sir; the Church had to be as; "The Church of 
God," eistablished before} all this establishing took 
place, in order to put Baptism and the Supper in the 
Church as Church Ordinances, and also, in which to 
put Christ as "Head of the Church." I am confident 
that God, the Father, established the Church in 
Heaven and put both John and Jesus in it before they 
left Heaven. John was from Heaven ; Jesus was from 



CHRIST SANCTIFIED BY BLOOD. 57 

Heaven ; Baptism was from Heaven ; then why not the 
church from Heaven, and made complete with two 
members and two ordinances before the church was 
sent as a missionary to earth? John and Jesus were 
in it as in nebulae membership there, to be physi- 
cally revealed to the world, John was a re-incarnation 
of the body of Elijah who was taken to Heaven in 
his body, and Jesus was ever, "As a Lamb slain from 
the foundation of the world," hence ; it was possible for 
God to complete the church with them in Heaven be- 
fore their birth into this world. 

"The Tabernacle was a shadow of good things to 
come," and foreshadowed the Church. The history 
of that wonderful tent says that the Priests were 
washed, sanctified, robed and mitred. And that the 
Levites who were to serve about the Tabernacle were 
made ready. And that all the 

Blood Stained Church 

parts of the Tabernacle wtere made and the whole of 
every part was complete, and that "The Tabernacle 
was set up" before any offering by blood was made. 
If it shadowed the Church in its every detail complete, 
then nothing was needed but the blood of Jesus to be 
shed upon a Church which had already been set up. 
So you see, sir; that it must be bloodless in the erec- 
tion according to the shadow. And note this : The 
priest only with the Tabernacle and it appurtenances 
were stained or sprinkled with blood, and not the whole 
congregation of Israel. Only the "Door and door 
posts" of their houses were stained or sprinkled with 



58 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

blood, and not the people. Houses represented 
churches in Moses' day. Jesus saved His church by 
His blood. See Zech. 9:11; Hebrews 9:22-28 and 
13:20. Ex. 12; Leviticus 8. 

If the Church was a vessel to hold Baptism and the 
Lord's Supper, and if they were established before 
there was a Church, was it not a foolish, wicked 
thing of men to take them into the Church? What 
chapter in all God's Book said we must have a Church, 
stained with blood, before Jesus could die? 

If the Church was a vessel to hold Baptism and the 
Supper, is it not also a vessel to hold the blood of 
Jesus ? If not, why not ? If blood was not necessary 
to establish Baptism and the Supper, which are a part 
of a complete Church, why was it necessary to have a 
blood-stained Church? If we must have a blood- 
stained Church, then that Church must be up and com- 
pleted with both its ordinances before it can be Blood- 
stained or Blood bought! 

Certainly a man can make a man-made Church, but 
not a God-made Church. Christ left it to His Apos- 
tles to unfold the Church which He had set up after 
the manner of the sun in unfolding a rosebud ; but no 
rose can bloom, without a bud to spring from. And 
the Apostles could not have unfolded a Church if it 
had not been enfolded in them, ready to be unfolded. 

We want to introduce the testimony of two wit- 
nesses, showing that they had an internal preparation 
for their work before Pentecost. "Then opened He 
their understanding that they might understand the 
Scriptures, and said unto them: Thus it is written, 
and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from 



PENTECOST. 59 

the dead on the third day. And that repentance and 
remission of sins should be preached among . all na- 
tions, beginning at Jerusalem ; and ye are witnesses of 
these things." Luke 24:45-48. 

"And ye are witnesses?" Exactly! On the wit- 
ness stand bearing testimony unto the truth forty days 
ahead of the coming of Pentecost ! Yes ! Hear the 
truth ! 

Then the same day at evening, being the first day of 
the week, when the doors were shut where the disci- 
ples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus 
and stood in their midst and saith unto them: "Peace 
be unto you." And when he had so said he showed 
them His hands and His side. Then were the disci- 
ples glad when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus 
to them again: "Peace be unto you; as My Father 
hath sent Me, even so I send you I" and when he had 
said this, he breathed on them and saith unto them: 
"Receive ye the Holy Ghost." John 20:19-24. 

Just listen to that! "Peace be unto you!" from 
their blessed Lord. There will be no wrong in your 
Church work of appointing a successor to Judas, nor 
for receiving 120 members, nor for holding a ten-days' 
prayer-meeting. Ah, listen again: "As My Father 
hath sent Me, even so send I you!" Go ! hold a prayer 
service; enlarge your membership; elect a new apos- 
tle. And now "Receive ye the Holy Ghost," who 
will teach you how to do all this. Ye are now filled 
with power within for all this work. Do it! was 
said 50 days before Pentecost. Some authorities dis- 



60 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

count Mark's commission as not found in the earliest 
manuscripts. But we have it in the present day ver- 
sions, and can not cast it out. 

Now turn to Mark's account of the giving of the 
commission and read it. Can you separate the three 
statements as two or three different occasions? Keep 
this in mind : John's Gospel states clearly the things 
left out in the other Gospels. John shows that Christ 
endued them with a commission to "Go," in Hjis name, 
and, forty days later, He re-commissioned them in the 
name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, ten days be- 
fore Pentecost; and in all these ten days they were at 
work, praying, preaching, holding business meetings 
and growing in number, having increased the eleven to 
1 20. If any commission beyond that, or power to or- 
ganize Churches, was given at Pentecost or any other 
day, I have been unable to find it. For fifty days they 
were filled with the Holy Ghost, endued with power 
to* understand the Scriptures, to go and declare, to wit- 
ness, and to remit or retain sins! Was that not suf- 
ficient? Was more than that ever bestowed upon 
them? When? Where? Let us examine the record 
to see what we can find in it about the Church at 
Pentecost. "Now when the day of Pentecost was 
fully come, they were all with one accord in one place ; 
and suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of 
a rushing, mighty wind, and it filled all the house 
where they were sitting. And there appeared unto 
them cloven tongues like as of fire and it sat upon 
each of them. And they were filled with the Holy 



SPIRIT POURED OUT. 6l 

Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the 
Spirit gave them utterance." Acts 2 11-4.* Now 

* Verse four restates the fact of their "Being rilled with 
the Holy Spirit" (R. V.) and as "there appeared unto 
them tongues parting asunder and sat upon each of them, ,, 
that this "appearing and sat" on them was only an out- 
ward clothing to set the inward rilling at work. 

note this : The Holy Ghost was poured out in Heaven, 
and not on the people, for He came rushing in on 
them in a large stream through the spacious double- 
folding doors of the temple. He continued to rush 
as a mighty wind until He filled all the house where 
they were sitting! This flow, as described, if it were 
water, would fill a small river. Wonderful yes, a most 
wonderful immersion, thirty cubits deep. 

Homier nodded, Mr. Mann, when you wrote that 
statement. It was "sound that filled all the house 
where they sat." Yes, the second verse of Acts 2, seems 
to say that true enough, but the point seems to be poorly 
taken when the whole statement is read. It is an un- 
fair, dangerous practice to detach a single statement 
from its connection and make it mean something else ! 
The entire statement carries the idea that the descent 
of the Spirit made the "sound" and that Spirit and 
sound both filled the house. Peter said the occasion 
was a fulfillment of Joel's prophecy and God did that 
day "Pour out His Spirit," whatever that figure of 
speech may mean. 

Pouring is accomplished by tilting a vessel, as a 
pitcher of water ; to pour out something, as water, and 
let it rush, make a noise, by a rapid descent. But is 
God's Spirit a liquid? Then Christ made a mistake 
when He used masculine gender in speaking of the 



62 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

Spirit — "When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come," etc. 
— and on that day when the Spirit made Himself vis- 
ible He was a solid. He was also a solid at Christ's 
baptism, and the saying, "Baptize you with the Holy 
Ghost," is a figurative expression. And after the ap- 
pearing of "the Tongues," twelve men began to speak 
in eighteen languages and dialects without any con- 
fusion, saying the same thing like the singing in 
chorus, six speaking in two tongues, without doubt. 

No setting up is found, but preaching publicly was 
only the setting in motion of the machinery already 
properly adjusted and tested, ready at a signal to begin 
work. And what results? Three thousand were ad- 
ded to — What? Nothing? If there was no Church, 
to what could they be added ? I have studied the narra- 
tive carefully, re-examined it while writing, and con- 
fess my dullness in not discovering if anything was 
done that day or any other day after Jesus' crucifixion 
that can be so tortured as to find anything but a grow- 
ing Church at work. 

"Let me interpose this thought : 'The Word of the 
Lord was to go forth from Jerusalem.' 'Repentance 
and remission of sins' were to be preached in Jesus' 
name. This was never done until Pentecost and Peter 
preached and added 3,000 souls to the Church that 
day and set up the Kingdom in fulfilling Joel's proph- 
ecy." 

Sure enough ? Did Peter add them from within or 
without? Your statement admits the presence of a 
Church and kills your objection. There is a most re- 
markable certainty of the existence of the Church in 
Jesus' life time, if His words mean anything. His 



CHRIST THE FOUNDATION. 63 

words were these : "Verily I say unto you, ye which 
have followed me in the regeneration/' etc. (Matt. 
19:28), shows that a part of the time was past in 
which that regeneration went on. The word is thus 
defined : re-geniare — to beget, to reproduce, to make a 
radical change for the better in character. 

What was it that was undergoing a "Radical change 
for the better" by life-work of Jesus and His disciples ? 
Was it themselves, or was it others not yet joined with 
them in their "Work of regeneration? Was it not a 
Church at work then the same as now, to "make a radi- 
cal change for the betterment in character of "men?" 

Was it a local or universal Church at work? Had 
it a local or universal language ? Notes on the Douay 
Bible, a book endorsed by the Pope, Cardinals and 
Bishops as safe for faithful Catholics, says both were 
universal, and has this to say further: "We are not 
ashamed of our mother-tongue. The Church is our 
mother and she has a universal tongue to teach her 
children." That is true. Our native mother-tongue 
is the tongue of our Mother-church, as shown by the 
Holy Ghost that day, that all people should hear the 
Gospel "In the tongue wherein we were born," This 
example at Pentecost in preaching to men in their 
native tongue, not in one tongue, as do the Catholic 
clergy, is significant. 

I have been recalled several times to I. Cor. 3:11, 
in which Paul, in quoting Isaiah, says: "For other 
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which i9 
Jesus Christ." 

The contention about Paul's statement here is, that 
Jesus Himself was the foundation stone upon which 



64 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

the Church was built. Paul said : As to this, we have 
the following thoughts: Jesus is the foundation of 
prophecy in connection with the Church. He is the 
foundation of the Gospel, the foundation of the Chris- 
tian faith. He is the foundation of the Church as its 
chief corner stone. And surely Christ was the 
first piece of humanity in the Church, or He could not 
have taken the Apostles in it with himself. He was 
God-in-Man ; God manifest in the flesh ; but as to men, 
He was purely human, and the first man or member 
in the Church. John and Paul both say it was the 
twelve, who were the first members as foundation tim- 
bers in the church, as to its human side in the world. 
Jesus as "A Son over His own house," was sent of God 
to 'Build it/' and had no choice in anything, but to 
build as the Father had appointed unto him. Every 
word spoken by him was commanded of His Father. 
Not a deed done in His life that was not required by 
prophecy. He came not to create not to originate. He 
was not to make revelations, nor change them. He came 
simply to fill an assignment to duty, and one of them 
was to establish "The Church of God" and sanctify it 
with His blood. God's Church must be composed, not 
of angels, but of men, for men. And finally Christ 
was in the Church as the foundation for the union of 
God and mlan. He is the Bridegroom of His Young 
Growing Church, whose foundation is in her Husband. 
We can but poorly understand to-day why the Church 
is Christ's and Christ's is God's. Why it is "Christ's 
Bride" and "The Church of God?" The only possible 
explanation that seems plausible is the words of Jesus 
viz : "Whatsoever the Son seeth the Father do, that 



THE CORNER STONE. 65 

also the Son doeth." God made a Church, Christ 
made ia Church, and one Church results. It is like 
the arithmetic of heaven which no one understands, 
as; 1 plus 1 equals i. 

But when we look upon the Church "Adorned as a 
bride going forth to meet her Lord," we will know. 
Isaiah 61 :io. 

The Savior said of Himself: "The stone which ye 
builders have rejected has become the head of the 
corner." Paul also makes this argument : "As a man 
is head of the wife, so Christ is head of (over?) the 
Church." Tell me one thing : Can a block of stone be 
head (top) of a corner and foundation under a build- 
ing at the same time? If the Apostles were not the 
foundation members as men, what were they? Who 
was in the foundation before them? Paul gives some 
valuable testimony in these words : "But now hath 
God set some in the body as it hath pleased Him." 
I. Cor. 12:18. God did the setting. If we can find 
who were set it might make an end of our searching. 
Take verse 28, same chapter : "And God hath set some 
in the church, first apostles," etc. This "setting" ex- 
plains why Jesus went walking by the seaside early 
that morning. It was to find and to "call out" those 
whom "God had set in the Church." God prepared 
the material and Jesus used it. If Jesus was to do 
only "The will of Him that sent me," it is possible that 
God told Jesus when in prayer the night preceding 
where to find four men whom he had set in the 
Church, and how to know them when he found them, 
when and where to find the next two, John 1 43,45 and 
how to know and "call out" the final six, to make 
in all twelve members in the First Church. 



6b THE FIRST CHURCH. 

Attention has been called to Eph. 2:19-21, where 
Paul tells us the Church was built upon the "apostles 
and prophets/' meaning Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, etc. 
He was a candid believer that the Jewish nation as a 
theocracy was perpetuated in the Church with only 
slight modifications. Some people are glad to catch 
at such points, and do so at times with violence to the 
Scriptures to sustain theories of a Church. Another 
witness said : "And the wall of the city had twelve 
foundations and in them the names of the twelve 
Apostles of the Lamb." — Rev. 21:14. John was look- 
ing onward to the end of time and saw the completed 
Church from foundation to crown, but makes mention 
only of the Apostles in the foundation. Eph. 2:19-21 
tells of a growing Church. John saw it at full growth. 

"Why, then, should Paul connect the 'Prophets' 
with the Apostles in the Church if they were no part 
of it?" 

Just this, to connect them, in showing what would 
be, centuries after their death, by making known be- 
forehand the need of a Church that the "God of 
Heaven would set up," in which, as a medium of 
communication, He would make known His terms of 
salvation to sinful man. 

Nothing is complete in a state of growth. The last 
nail must be driven to finish the house. "They with- 
out us should not be made perfect." — Heb. 11:40. If 
what Paul said was true thirty years after Christ, it 
must be true all the years till Christ comes again to re- 
ceive his mature bride. Expressions about the Church 
sometimes elicit pity for the speaker's lack of learning. 
Any one coming to them in the name of religion is 



THE CHURCH A HOME. 6/ 

called on for prayer or sermon, and sometimes to take 
charge of a meeting. Discords and divisions ensue to 
pay for it sometimes. Paul gave a safe rule that will 
work well all the time. It is this : "preferring one 
another in love." See Num. 18:1-7; Deut. 5:30-33; 
Deut. 11:26-28; Deut. 13-3-5; J ohn 17:18-23. 

Questions like these have been run on me: (1) 
"Do you believe that the Baptist Church is the only 
Church Christ set up?" (2) "Do you think there is 
no other Scriptural Church to-day but the Baptist?" 
(3) "Can not people get to Heaven just as well out of 
one Church as out of another, or as from the Baptist ?" 

The Church a Home to Live in. 

Reply : ( 1 ) Most fervently do I believe it. Why 
should it stagger anyone to believe Christ when He 
sa'd, "The gates of hell shall not prevail against my 
church !" That Church has a continuance in the 
Baptists or the Catholics, which? If I did not believe 
it v. as the Baptist I wuiild take no test until I learned 
which Church descended from Christ; and then, as a 
matter of loyalty to Christ, I would be a member of it! 
Christ built His Church for me to live in. (2) I 
dont like the question in that form, but r- Q ply that a 
Church may be a Christian Church without being a 
Scriptural Church. A Scriptural Church's founda- 
tion is found in the New Testament, but a mere Chris- 
tian Church may have sprung up under a man as its 
founder in 1810, or 1827, or 1527. (3) The question 
is oft repeated. It is misleading and may be the foun- 
dation of ill in all eternity if it stops investigation. 



68 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

And as to "The Baptist Church;" there is no such 
Church existing in my knowledge, unless it be limited 
to a single; congregation. In cities where several Bap- 
tist Churches are in existence, as a mere matter of 
distinction, we may say 'The First Baptist Church of 
Atlanta/' or if in a village where there is more than 
one denomination, we say : "The Baptist Church." as a 
distinction of that congregation from one of 
another denomination. But in any State or in the 
United States to speak correctly, we would have to 
siay: "Baptist Churches in Georgia," or "Baptist 
Churches in the United States." There is no central- 
ized unity that would make us say — "The Baptist 
Church of Georgia," "The Baptist Church of the 
United States," (3) The real question in the New 
Testament is of finding Christ! and not of "Getting 
to Heaven." Find Christ and Heaven will come to you. 

"Why! what is the good of a Church then, if we 
dont get to Heaven in it or by it ?" 

Only this : Christ is the Saviour who meets us in the 
Church, unites us to God as children, and will repre- 
sent us in Heaven. 

Press church membership upon another man and ht 
will exclaim in triumphant tone : "It is not the Church 
that takes one to Heaven !" I am so glad that Jesus was 
not a sectarian but is the chief corner stone of the 
Church, and will let one go to Heaven from any one 
of the great churches built by Luther, Melancthon, 
Calvin or John Wesley, who were great and good 
men. A man could get to Heaven without member- 
ship in any church. 



SOME DISTINCTIONS. 69 

Well, sir, you are safely right in that, that Christ 
was not a sectarian, and did not build a "Sectarian 
Church," He "built The Church of God," and 
the "Church of God " is not a sectarian church ! Yes, 
you are right in that. Jesus said — "/ will build my 
Church." Luther, Calvin, and Wesley all said the 
same thing, and when they built, Lutheran, Presby- 
terian, and Methodist ChurcRes, resulted from their 
building. But when Jesus built, "The Church of 
God" resulted. A broad difference! See? Outside 
of all these churches billions have gone to Heaven 
and countless host of others would still go there if all 
churches were extinguished. 

Can you not build a Church just as good, and with 
as much authority as those men used in building? 

"Yes, sir! I could!" 

Would your authority to build be as good and great 
as the authority used by all those good and great men ? 

"Yes, sir! Indeed it would!" 

One more question. Can I not as safely build a 
Church as you can?" 

"Most certainly you can!" 

Very good : I could build a Church and name it all 
right enough, as those men did, but tell me, by what 
right, by what authority, and HOW would I go 
about building a ["Church of God?"] 

Take the history of any Protestant Church. It will 
find its way back into the Catholic Church in a few 
centuries, if men have given us truthful history. The 
Catholics claim to have existed from Apostolic days. 
Then, if they sprang out of the Catholic, the Catholic 
and not the Protestant is the true Church. Take the 



70 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

Baptists and they revert back to the Reformation 
period, when the great struggle for emancipation from 
Catholic rule was rife and Protestantism began, but 
they don't stop with the Protestants at the Reforma- 
tion. They course on back under different names, as 
—Anabaptists, Mennonites, Waldenses, etc., but as 
heretics to Rome all the time. Stake and torch, butch- 
ery and the Spanish Inquisition played a monstrous 
part in the hands of Romanism trying to exterminate 
them before she found her hands full of the Reforma- 
tion. ^Catholics and Reformed Dutch historians trace 

* At a recent Convention in Oakland, Cal., Rev. Dr. 
Shaw, an Episcopal clergyman, made the following deliver- 
ance : "The tendency to put off the age of baptism is 
due to a large and influential sect in our midst who op- 
pose infant baptism. In my mind they stand in the same 
place as they who when the young children were being 
brought to Jesus, forbade those who brought them. For 
myself, there is no sect whose teachings I dislike and de- 
spise as I do the Baptists. I should like to see special 
services arranged to fight against tihem. They try to make 
infant baptism ridiculous. I wish that we might all meet 
and prepare to form a solid front to attack this enemy of 
our faith." This is certainly very sad. What are we Bap- 
tists going to do about it? It looks like we will either have 
to fight or surrender. Well, for our part, we are ready 
to fight. Come on, Dr. Shaw. Show us one passage of 
Scripture teaching infant baptism. We challenge you to do 
so.— Baptist and Reflector. 

the Baptists back to the Apostles, however much the 
Catholics may dislike to do it. 

Reformers reformed from the Catholic Church and 
are therefore reformed Catholics. Methodists re- 
formed from the Episcopal Church, and are therefore 
reformed Episcopalians. Joe Smith formed the Mor- 
mon Church in 1830, trying to so shape it that there 
was no descent from any church. The several state- 



DR. MOSHEIM. 71 

ments which are made about Joe Smith's church-build- 
ing warrants about this conclusion : Having, through 
uncertain means come into possession of "The Book 
of Mormon/' a literary work of Rev. Mr. Spalding, a 
Presbyterian minister, he plagiarized that work and 
formed the Mormon Church, which is neither Chris- 
tian nor Scriptural, but polygamous ! Yet, strange to 
say, they have also taken the Bible with the "Book of 
Mormon," and their claims sound the highest of all 
the churches of this day. They call themselves "The 
Lattelr Dky Saints' Church of God!" Smiith was 
charged as guilty of every crime in the catalogue of 
sins ! If his Church has his character stamped in it, 
what a monster of sin it must be ! 

Dr. Mosheim, a Lutheran divine, is often mentioned 
as among the most accurate and reliable authors of 
Church history. It affords us pleasure to give his 
notice of the Baptists in his great work. It says : "In 
1819 the King of Holland appointed Dr. Ypeij, pro- 
fessor of theology in the University of Groningen, and 
the Rev. I. J. Dermout, chaplain to the King, both 
learned men and members of the Dutch Reformed 
Church, to prepare a history of their Church. In the 
authentic volume which they prepared and published 
at Breda, 1823, they devote one chapter to the Baptists, 
in which they make the following statement: 'We 
have now seen that the Baptists, who were formerly 
called Anabaptists, and in later times Mennonites, were 
the original Waldenses, and who, long in the history of 
the Church, received the honor of that origin. On 
this account the Baptists may be considered the only 
Christian community which has stood since the Apos- 



72 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

ties, and as a Christian society has preserved pure the 
doctrines of the Gospel throughout all ages/ " 

Dr. Isaac Newton. 

Hear more testimony of the same kind from another 
great man, Sir Isaac Newton. He said: "The Bap- 
tists are the only body of Christians that has not sym- 
bolized with the Church of Rome. The true origin 
of that sect, which acquired the denomination, Ana- 
baptists, by their administering anew the right of bap- 
tism to those who came over to their communion, and 
derived that of Mennonites from the famous man to 
whom they owe the greatest part of their present 
felicity is hid in the depths of antiquity, and is, of con- 
sequence extremely difficult to be ascertained." — 
Church History, P. 490. 

New Name. 

Having traced only Baptists and Catholics back 
to the Apostles, it is necessary to return to the Prophets 
for the name, perpetuity and some of the char- 
acteristics of the church in prophetic shadow, and fol- 
low it on to Christ again as the center point of history 
and prophecy. It will then be necessary to see which 
one conforms to that model given by Christ, and then 
look for a cause of division between the true and the 
false parties in the division. 

Isaiah wrote of the Church: "And ye shall leave 
your name for a curse unto my chosen ; for the Lord 
God shall slay thee, and call his servants by another 



NEW NAME. 73 

name." — 65:15. "Even unto them will I give in mine 
house, and within my walls a place and a name better 
than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an 
everlasting name that shall not be cut off." — 56:5 
Read verses 1-8. "The Gentiles shall see Thy right- 
eousness and all kings Thy glory; and Thou shalt be 
called by a New Name which the mouth of the Lord 
shall name." — 62:2. This "new name/' "another 
name," "an everlasting name," must be sought out 
in the New Testament. Jesus said of John: "Among 
them born of women, there hath not arisen a greater 
than John the Baptist." Baptist is a new name never 
applied to any other until Jesus applied the name unto 
John and always called him by it. It was a "new 
name" for John, and it has lasted until now. Who 
can say it does not fulfill the prophecy calling for a 
"new name?" As to the perpetuity of the Church, 
several prophets speak: "I know that whatsoever 
God doeth it shall be forever ; nothing can be put to it, 
nor anything taken from it, and God doeth it that men 
shall fear before Him." — EccL 3:14. (See Ezek. 37: 
26-28.) "And in the days of these kings shall the 
God of Heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be 
destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other 
people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all 
those kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. — Dan. 2: 
44, see verse 35 ; also 4 :3 and 34. "And there was 
given him dominion and glory and a kingdom that 
all people, nations and languages shall serve him. His 
dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not 
pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be 
destroyed!' — Dan. 7:14. But the saints of the Most 



74 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

High shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom 
forever, even forever and ever. — Verse 18. The time 
of setting up and the perpetuity is a clear, definite 
promise. The new name it shall wear is not to be 
doubted. The corroboration in New Testament is also 
strong: "The gates of hell shall not prevail against 
it." "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of 
the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto Him 
the throne of His father, David, and He shall reign 
over the house of David forever" — Luke i :32-33- 
"Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which can not be 
moved, let us have grace/' etc. — Heb. 12:28. The 
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of 
our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign for- 
ever and ever. — Rev. 11 :i5. 

Here are five promises about a Church — the 
Prophet's, the Angel's, Christ's, Paul's and the Reve- 
lations — and all promise that 

"A Perpetual Church" 

shall be established. If these promises of church per- 
petuity are true, that church exists to-day. If they 
are not true and the God of Heaven has failed to 
keep his promise, then it is silly in men to discuss the 
differences in churches. And John the Baptist was a 
fore-runner of a man who was and is a failure, and his 
service as a great headlight of a new era to that people 
has gone out in darkness! 

Once a Mormon elder, who, hearing that state- 
ment, said: "That statement is true, but I am sorry 
that truth and duty compel me to inform you that the 






CHURCH NAMES. 75 

church became too much enfeebled to live on earth, 
from the efforts to exterminate her during the 'Dark 
Ages/ and God took her up to Heaven to preserve her 
alive, that she might be an 'Everlasting Church.' In 
these 'Latter days' God sent the church back to earth, 
and revealed it to the people under the hands of His 
prophet Joseph, (Smith), the Latter Day prophet." 

REASONS FOR CHURCH NAMES. 
Mormons. 

This last kingdom (Christ's) was never to change 
Masters like all the kingdoms which have gone before 
it. It was never to be left to other people. It was 
to break in pieces all these kingdoms and stand forever. 
Many suppose that this last kingdom alluded to was 
the Kingdom of God, which was organized in the days 
of Christ and His Apostles. But a greater blunder 
could not exist. * * * Power was given to the 
authorities of the earth to kill the Apostles and inspired 
men. * * * In this way the kingdom of God be- 
came disorganized and lost from among men. You 
may see, then, sir, that the Church should not be called 
Mormon, Methodist, Christian nor Baptist, but 
church of the latter day saints. — Voice of Warn- 
ing, pages 16 and 17. 

Disciples. 

"I am quite sure of your sincerity, my brother." 
said another listener, "and of the innocence of the 
statement also." Without question the Church died, 



7t> THE FIRST CHURCH. 

and for a period the world was without a living 
Church, derived from the Church Christ established. 
But it was revived by the eloquent Gospel preaching 
of the great and good Alexander Campbell. He be- 
gan life in religion as a Presbyterian, but went to the 
Baptist Church, where he remained long enough to 
Reform the "Church of God." And since then the 
true Gospel has been preached, and the true "Church 
of God" exists only in the 'Christian Church/ " 

Lutheran Church. 

Gentlemen: It is quite pleasant to say that the 
world renowned Martin Luther made the only refor- 
mation necessary, and about 50,000,000 people give 
allegiance to God under his name as the proper name 
of all reformers, he being the first and boldest of the 
reformers, and you entrench on Mr. Luther's leader- 
ship and confuse the world by having anything but 
Lutherans. 

Catholic Church. 

"It is all a mistake, beloved, to say that Luther re- 
formed either himself or the church. With a few 
changes he retained all that he got in the Roman Cath- 
olic Church. There are 150,000,000 Catholics. It is 
a crime against God to try to reform His church. 
The Mother Church is the one Universal Church of 
God that suffers no reformation except such as her 
visible head as Christ's vice-regent wills to make. 
She is the same in all ages and in all countries. The 
Mother Church of all Churches is the Roman Catholic 
Church/ said an aged Catholic priest. 



CHURCH NAMES. JJ 

Episcopal Church, 

"Ah! Beloved of God, don't speak with such dog- 
matic accents. 'The true name of the Church is 
'Christ's Church, which belongs to all Episcopalians," 
said a scholarly young priest/' 

This conversation was had in the midst of a group 
of men who were seated on rustic seats in the park 
in Mobile, Ala. All were enlightened and a little sur- 
prised at the reply of a stranger, well-dressed in cler- 
ical garments. He said: "I wish it were possible for 
you all to be right as to the Scriptural name. But 
that is impossible," he continued in subdued tones, 
"for there is but one name possible of use, if we let 
the New Testament say what is that name. It does 
that. In no uncertain words it is called 'The Church 
of God' nine times. I am a humble member of the 
only body of Christians who use that name." 

Winebrennarians. 

"It is a rare occurrence for the assembly in these 
shades to meet you. Please be seated, sir, and tell of 
your Church. Tell of its origin, its faith and practice 
for our instruction. We make the request because the 
name is little used among Christians and so few know 
of the existence of your Church," was our request to 
that quiet spoken man. 

"It is a pleasure all mine, to comply, I assure you. 
John Winebrenner, a minister of the Dutch Baptists of 
Pennsylvania, in 1820, began to agitate the use of the 
name. He effected a separate body in 1830 who took 



78 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

the name 'Church of God! We immerse, wash feet 
in Church, are Armenians in faith, and believe in 
missions. We have a present membership of about 
35,000." 

"Good, my brother; we are willing for you to pre- 
sent your claims to us briefly as to your name. Give 
us the Scriptures that you refer to as authority to use 
it as your name, a notice to the world by what name to 
call you, or why to say 'church of god' in speaking 
of you." 

"Certainly, sir; consult: Acts 20:28; I. Cor. 1:2; 
I. Cor. 11 :22; I. Cor. 13:19; Gal. 1:13; I. Thess. 2:14; 
I. Tim. 3:5; I. Tim. 3:15; II. Cor. 1:1. In each of 
these nine passages, from an inspired pen, we have 
the one and only New! Testament name for Christian 
Churches. 

"The term^ 'Saints' is used six times and I am not 
sure but that it is synonymous with Church. 'Beloved 
of God' is used one time, and 'Flock of God' is used 
two times as the equivalent of 'Church of God/ " 

"Ah! I felt sure you could not make your defini- 
tion without saying 'Christian Churches I' Our Baptist 
neighbors love to parade themselves as Baptists, as if 
it was the name. The wife should be proud of her 
husband's name, and want people to call her by it. 
Moses said : 'They shall be called by the name of the 
Lord.'— Deut. 28:10; II. Chron. 7:14; Eph. 3:14-15." 

"I certainly think you have missed your bearings. 
The same reasonings would make us call the Jews 
'Jehovans' and make us change the expression from 
'Church of God' to 'Mrs. Christ!' Will you excuse 
us?" said the quiet man. 



CHURCH NAMES. 79 

"Oh, no! not that. Call it 'Christian Church/ for 
the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. — 
Acts 1 1 126." 

"You, sir, may have overlooked that it is most 
propable that the enemies of the Church began to call 
them 'Christians' to break up their religious influence 
by an evil name. It is not warranted to you to say 
that Christ or the Holy Spirit authorized its use. The 
terms — 'Christ's Church,' 'Church of Christ.' Catholic. 
Episcopal, Methodist, Baptist Church or 'Christian 
Church' is not once named or authorized in any chap- 
ter of the New Testament !" said the stranger. 

"In Eph. 3:14 and 15, Paul makes this statement: 
"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in 
Heaven and earth is named." This sounds like it must 
be for Christ that the family is named." 

"Yes, it sounds that way, but sense, not sound, must 
govern. Let truth guide us ! Paul bowed to whom ? 
To Christ or to the Father of Christ? The One to 
whom he bowed is the One for whom the family is 
named. This is a dative case, and it shows for which 
or to what a thing was directed. Paul bowed to God — 
so it was 'God that the family must be named!' Mr, 
Smith's eldest son is named John. Should all the 
younger children be named John for the oldest brother, 
or Smith for their father ? There was a 

Great First Cause 

for the existence of the Smith family, and all the 
young Smith's this side of the old gentlemen, have 



SO THE FIRST CHURCH. 

their father's name on them whether they want it or 
not. All of God's children must have God's name on 
them. This is accomplished by having a membership 
in the "Church of God/ rejoined the stranger. 

"John the Baptist was the great first cause of 
Baptists, and all who have had a baptism in regular 
lineal descent from John the Baptist are his lineal, 
legal, baptized descendants, just in the same sense that 
one who has faith is a child of faithful Abraham." 

"The world, with its scholarship, is against the use 
Baptists make of John the Baptist's name, and the 
great lengths to which some preachers go in making 
John a Baptist, and practically the Head Light and 
origin of the Baptist Church! We all could wish 
that they were more modest in their claims of a descent 
from John !" 

You admit that the Roman Catholic Church extends 
back to the Apostles. They say it was the Baptists 
whom they called heretics and tried to exterminate, 
if you take their word about their own existence, why 
not take their word about Baptist existence? 

"The Baptist" was neither his Christian name nor 
family name. It was a name of distinction to point 
out one among several and to denote his calling. If, 
in a town of fifty men, each one signed his name T. J. 
Timms, there must of necessity be some way to distin- 
guish one from! the other in sending a letter. One 
would be Dr. Timmis; another, Professor, etc., which 
are names derived from chosen occupations. John's 
name was given him by the Saviour to denote his 
place in religion and to fill a place in prophecy — Isaiah's 
"new name." It was to be for God's people "An 






CHURCH NAMES. 8l 

everlasting name/' "Not cut off" name. It was, 
therefore, rightly applied. It seems evident that John 
and his disciples were "Laborers together with Christ," 
from one declaration made to his disciples, viz. : "Of 
His (Christ's) fulness have we all received, and grace 
for grace." 

The Apostles never received more than "The Ful- 
ness of Christ," unless the record is short as to their 
fulness. 

Was John not sent to baptize? Did he not faith- 
fully do the duty assigned to him? Then was he not 
a Baptist when he baptized ? If not, why not ? If he 
was not a Baptist, did not Christ make a mistake and 
call him by a wrong name? Was it wrong to call 
him by his right name ? Would it have been proper to 
call him John the Catholic, John the Methodist, or 
John the Mormon? If then, John was a Baptist, as 
Christ called him, all his disciples were Baptists by 
virtue of their baptism at John's hands. The twelve 
Apostles were baptized by John; did it make Baptists 
of them? If John's baptism made Baptists and dis- 
ciples of men, did it not have the same effect on Jesus ? 
If so, then Christ and His Apostles were members of 
the first Baptist Church, and must have remained such, 
as there is no record or evidence of any other water 
baptism than John's baptism. From the parity of this 
reasoning Christ's Church was a Baptist Church, 
Christ Himself being the judge. 

Very good, gentlemen, we are students searching 
for truth, the most willing learners you can find, will- 
ing to believe any truth you may bring, only we ex- 
act the page of history and the verse of Scripture as 



82 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

proof of a statement, I rejoined. "We want truth. 
but your statement sounds like fables. It is passing 
strange how God could take His Church up to Heaven, 
and return her to earth by the hand of Joe Smith, 
who had not been to Heaven. What are the evi- 
dences? Bring the proof — undoubtable proof — or ex- 
cuse me if I do not accept it. 

And now, as to Mr. Campbell's miracle. Restoring 
life to a dead Church by preaching the Gospel is the 
wonder of the ages ! His ecclesiastical life is given in 
in history as having begun in the Presbyterian faith. 
Was he a live Christian then? I suppose not, if your 
statement is true. We next find Mr. Campbell a 
preacher in "a dead Baptist Church. " Did his preach- 
ing give life to himself and to that Baptist Church? 
Did his preaching enable him to go out in his own live 
body from that "dead Baptist Church?" If so, did it 
give life to all Baptist Churches ? Were all the Baptist 
Churches dead at that date? Mystery of mysteries! 
A dead man moving from one dead Church to another, 
and preaching life into himself and the Church ! Are 
you serious in your assertions? My information is 
that M'r Campbell was never a regular member of an 
orderly Baptist church. Hie was baptized by Mr. 
Luce without consent or authority of any Church, 
He was accepted by «a church — nominally Baptist — on 
Mr. Luce's irregularity. The foundation of Camp- 
bellism began in irregularities and drove it to practice 
and preach all the irregular things that could be picked 
up, and, to make a strong opposition to every orderly 
practice. 



"BAPTIST" A SIGNIFICANT NAME. 83 

Found Among Baptists. 

Quite serious indeed are these indictments you bring 
against Christ's promise, viz. : "Heaven and earth shall 
pass away, but my words shall never fail;" "I will 
build my Church and the gates of hell shall not pre- 
vail against it;" "I appoint unto you a kingdom, oc- 
cupy till I come." Anyone who doubts the fulfillment 
of these promises and the power of that command, can 
believe in anything that discounts Christ or His prom- 
ise ! It prepares Mormons to believe that God sent 
His Church to earth by Joe Smith, or that Mr. Camp^ 
bell could revive the dead by preaching to them. Let 
rne suggest that if we doubt Jesus in one particular, 
let us doubt Him in all, and discard the whole Bible 
as a false witness ; or, if we believe Him in one thing, 
let us accept the wihole Bible and believe that the 
Church has had a continuous, unbroken existence from 
the moment it was organized unto this hour. Why 
should it be an incredible thing to believe that Jesus 
was able to keep His promise? 

"The name, Baptist, is significant. A name hallowed 
by precious associations around which cluster a vast 
accumulation of history, and gives birth to a multitude 
of ideas. * * * The Baptist system stands up and 
out before the world for six grand and glorious truths, 
viz.: 

1. A voluntary membership, and 

2. Not a hereditary membership. 

3. A regenerated membership, and 

4. Nbt a sponsorial membership. 

5. A trained membership in systematic theology. 



84 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

6. A membership with a creed in harmony with the 
Catholic faith of Christendom — with the purpose to 
win the world to Jesus Christ." — Homiletic Rev., June, 
1903. 

Christ could do no wrong. He was Christian in all 
Hie did. In taking John's baptism He Christianized 
it; hence John's baptism was Christian baptism, as 
everything which Christ did was Christian. The Holy 
Ghost sealed John's baptism by anointing Christ as 
He arose from the water — (Acts 4:27). Immediately 
after the anointing, the Father owned Jesus as "My 
Son, in whom I am well pleased," which words 
crowned John with honor and glorified the Son. The 
Son, Holy Spirit, and the Father united with John in 
establishing baptism as an ordinance from Heaven — 
(Matt. 21 125). A preparation was thus made out of 
which a church would issue. The prophet said it was 
to be "everlasting," and Jesus said : "The gates of hell 
shall not prevail against it," and all churches must ex- 
ist by virtue of being on the same model that Christ 
mjade His, if it is a Scriptural Church. 

A Derived Existence. 

Only one conclusion, then, seems to be admissible, 
viz. : that if a Church has not a derived existence from 
and after Christ's pattern, it is not a Scriptural Church. 

Tenth Chapter John makes some inportant disclo- 
sures as to the Church : 

1. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth 
not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up 
some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 



FAMILY NAME. 85 

2. But he that entereth in by the door is the shep? 
herd of the sheep. 

3. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear 
his voice: and He calleth his own sheep by name, 

AND LEADETH THEM OUT. 

7. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, 
I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 

8. All that ever came before me are thieves and rob- 
bers : but the sheep did not hear them. 

9. I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he 
shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pas- 
ture. 

"Sheepfold is used as a substitute word for Church. 
Every sheepfold must have <a 'door' by which to enter 
the fold. He that entereth by the door is the shepherd 
of the sheep. Then if a Church is a "sheepfold" 
Church, all her members are sheep. Jesus said, verse 
seven : "I am the door of the sheep/' In verse 14, He 
said : "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep." 
To doubt that statement and say that Jesus did not set 
up a Church in his lifetime, is to charge Him with 
downright falsehood. Jesus also declares another 
truth that is not well understood. In the third verse 
He declares : "Hb calleth his own sheep by name, 
and leadeth them out." What can that mean unless it 
is the church name for "The Church of God?" There 
was no family name for John, but Jesus added one 
when He called Him the Baptist. Baptist Church, is 
a family name that must stand for God's people — 
"The Church of God." 

"The beauty of prophecy plays again on the scene. 
Isaiah 60:1 says: 'Arise! Shine! for thy light is come.' 



86 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

These are words of ecstatic gladness. When were they 
fulfilled? At the Reformation? It seems so, when 
we read the fifteenth verse of the same chapter. Here 
it is : ' Whereas thou hast been forsaken, and hated, so 
that no man went through thee, I will make thee an 
eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. ' You 
might persuade me that 1 am torturing these two verses 
into duty, if John, the Revelator, had not said, in 
speaking of the wiar between the great red dragon 
(Rome dyed in blood) and the woman — Church — 'and 
the woman fled into the wilderness/ but she did not stay 
there, neither was she taken up to Heaven; "for she 
hath a place prepared of God where He would feed 
her one thousand, two hundred and threescore days." 
Can you say that her secretion in the 'wilderness' did 
not end in the Reformation ? 

"In the creation God endued everything in water, 
in air, and on land with the power to perpetuate its 
kind, and commanded it to do so. Faithfully has that 
law been obeyed. Our Saviour built a Church, and in- 
vested it with the same power, in these words : 'I 
appoint unto you a kingdom, as My Father hath ap- 
pointed unto Me ; that ye may eat and drink at My table 
in the kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve 
tribes of Israel.' 'Occupy till I come/ " 

"What is the Church ?" 

is a question agitating the world to-day. As a part 
of the world, we are referred to Matt. 16:18 for an 
answer. Every creed shades the meaning of that pas- 
sage to fit "My Church" and fail to "go to Christ and 



FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH. 87 

ask Him." What is the Church? One faith says: 
"Christ built His Church on Peter/' another one says it 
was built on Peters faith/' others tell us that these 
are wrong, that " it was built on Peter's — anyone's — 
confession of Christ;" and lastly, "that is was built up- 
on Christ Himself, the Rock of Eternal ages." Our in- 
terpretations should be as near faultless as possible, and 
we should make them without reference to Church 
lines. Dr. Kerr has stated the case well so far as he 
goes. There is one fault found in it, he makes a con- 
clusion without examining the entire passage. We 
cant improve on his statement so far as he made it. 
It is given in his own words, viz. : 

"What is the Church may be answered with refer- 
ence to the foundation. Christ said He would build 
His Church on a certain foundation. We can find out 
what is the Church if we discover an institution built 
upon the foundation He designates. It is plain, also 
that it is the foundation that decides the question. 
What is the Church? What is the foundation? 
Christ said : 'Upon this rock I will build My Church/ 
What rock ? The whole sentence is : Thou art 
Peter and upon this rock I will build My Church/ 
Now if this statement were taken apart from its con- 
nection, it would mean that Christ was going to build 
His Church on Peter. This is the view of the Roman 
Church. But it is neither fair nor safe to take a 
sentence in the Bible, or any other book, apart from 
its connection. The connection in which a statement 
is made must always determine its meaning. 
Christ opens the subject of the Church by asking: 
'Whom do men say I am?' This answered, He asked, 



88 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

'But wlhom do ye say that I am?' Simon Peter, 
speaking for himself and his fellow Apostles, said 
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God/ Christ 
had now drawn from them the statement He wanted — 
that He was the Messiah and Son of God. He is pre- 
pared to launch Hlis great declaration as to the Church : 
'Thou art Peter (rock) and upon this rock I, will build 
My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it/ What rock? Peter? No; the great fact 
that Peter had just uttered that 'Jesus is the Messiah 
and Son of God/ " In other words, the foundation 
is Christ. I am going to build the Church upon My- 
self, or, as the hymn phrases it, 'The Church's one 
foundation is, Jesus Christ, her Lord/ " 

If the Doctor had made his investigations begin with 
the 17th verse, he would have seen the whole truth. 
the Father's revelation, that Jesus was the Christ, the 
"Son of the Living God." 

It is strange to see how the learned divine reaches 
his conclusion. He has made a blunder where he said : 
"It is unfair to take a sentence apart from its con- 
nection." The Doctor did that. He did not use all 
the statement made by Matthew, but left the very heart 
of it unnoticed. The part he used made his conclu- 
sion easy; but the entire statement would have drawn 
out another, very different conclusion. The whole 
statement is, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the liv- 
ing God. Blessed art thou, Simon-Bar- Jona, for flesh 
and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My 
Father which is in Heaven (hath revealed it), and I 
say unto thee, that thou art Peter (Petros, a pebble, or 
fragmentary piece of rock), and upon this petra (a 



JESUS A CHURCH BUILDER. 89 

solid unbroken mass or bed of solid rock) I will build 
My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it." 

The whole statement must be retained to develop 
what the "rock" was that Christ was to build upon. 
Upon this rock is where men are sure to come to a 
parting of ways, if the statement is divided. To find 
the hinge on which the true answer swings, let us say 
that Christ wanted three things developed. First — His 
own personality as a builder; second — How His per- 
sonality was revealed to men, and, third — of what ma- 
terial would He build a Church. The statement how 
Christ was made known — revealed to men — is clear: 
"My Father which is in Heaven hath revealed it unto 
thee." "It?" What "it?" Why, my Father's revels 
tion that " I am the Christ, the Son of the living God," 
and upon this "rock" My Father's revelation, "I will 
build My Church"* It was not a question of the 

* Webster's "New Unabridged" says: "Build; used fre- 
quently with up, as to build up one's health. Second, to 
raise or place on foundations, to increase or strengthen, to 
increase the power and stability of." The foundation was 
laid in the Apostles and His purpose was in "Will build" to 
increase the power and stability of the building up on that 
foundation. 

where nor how with Christ, it was the material out of 
which "to build' 3 That seems clearly the problem. 
The primary idea in building is the foundation material 
first ; then comes place, size, etc. ; and the next idea is 
the builder to use the prepared material, and, finally, 
who shall prepare and furnish the material. Here God 
was to prepare and furnish material which was men, 
and His builder of "The Church of God" was Christ. 



9C THE FIRST CHURCH. 

Our definitions and conclusions will always be clear 
if we keep three things in mind : Christ was not to 
build a Catholic Church, a Presbyterian Church, nor a 
Baptist Church, but "The Church of God." 2d. He 
must build it of prepared material that was fur- 
nished him to use in the building. 3d. That Christ as 
a Son was building a house — a bride — which was to 
be the Lamb's bride — God's Church, or Church of God. 
God's children, God's family ; and hence, as the Lamb's 
bride, Jesus could call it "my church." 

* Jesus used the possessive case to show that 1 He had 
"His Church ,, in hand at the time He was speaking. Did 
Jesus make a false use of the possessive "My?" If not, we 
must confess that He has a second time declared that He 
had a church, Matt. 9:14-17, and John once made the same 
declaration, John 3 129. Can we dispute his words ? 

"Christ as a Son over His own house," must use 
such material in building as His Father would supply. 

God and Jesus were the workmen concerned in that 
building. God prepared the foundation timbers for 
the church, and Jesus laid them in place. I. Con 12 128. 
"And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, 
secondarily, prophets, thirdly teachers, after that mir- 
acles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, di- 
versities of tongues. — I. Cor. 12:28. 

Jesus could not, as things are seen by human eyes, be 
both builder and foundation timber at the same time 
in the same building. We are able to see Him as one, 
and only one — the builder in this case, using a "pre- 
pared people made ready for him." This helps to under- 
stand why the disciples bounded out from their nets 
with such alacrity when Jesus said, "follow me." 
They were "Prepared' by having had Christ "Re- 
vealed" to them. 



JESUS A CHURCH BUILDER. 9 1 

Dr. Kerr has left God entirely out of the question 
of building, ignoring the prominence of God, given by 
Christ, in disclosing who were the workmen employed 
as builders — God and Jesus. 

Jesus said: "Every man that hath heard of the 
Father (that I am the Christ) cometh unto Me." — John 
6:45; Matt. 11 \2J. This explains why it was so easy 
for Christ to call His Apostles on the slim promise : 
"Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." The 
four fishermen were the first timbers used, and were 
laid by Christ in the foundation of His church. The 
Apostles were the first He called, the first He used, the 
first He "ordained/ 7 "God had placed them in the 
Church." — I. Cor. 12:28 — and what else could the 
Messiah do with them but lay the foundation? An- 
other analysis : "Thou art Peter — petros, a pebble or 
fragment of a rock — and upon this rock — petra, a solid 
unbroken mass, an immovable body of God's revelation 
to sinners that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living 
God, and a sinner's Saviour, of such I will build My 
Church. From these conclusions we can say that 
Christ "will build His Church" out of a people 'make 
ready for the Lord." Make ready — ready-made for 
the Lord — by God's revelation. 

Who is prepared to say with authority that this 
work of Jesus has been annulled and the model broken 
and not in use to-day? If that work of God and His 
Christ was destroyed, why should men continue to 
build houses of worship, and put their money in minis- 
terial education and in the support of the ministry and 



in missions r 



? 



I have testimony from two distinguished men, and 
will let them speak of the Church and Rock. 



92 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

More than one year previous to the interview be- 
tween Jesus and his disciples, upon the shore of 
Galilee, Christ had called the Apostles into His serv- 
ice. If they were not placed in the Church that day, 
when were they placed in it? "Will buikT is ordi- 
narily used to denote a future action; but does it? 
This use made of "will build" by the Saviour is 
retroactive and perspective. It looks backward to the 
first act of Jesus in building, and it looks onward to the 
closing act of the last "Day of this age." We are 
still reading of frequent "(additions to the Church/' 

Orkodomeo. 

For "will build/' Matthew's word was Orkodomeo, 
and its meanings are, "to build up;" as the dome on a 
house. It is built up on the house which is its foun- 
dation. The dome of a house can only be built when 
there is a house on which to build it. So we can easily 
see that Christ had a Church and the "Domeo" w&s 
the continuous future additions to what had already 
been built as the foundation for daily additions. "And 
the Lord added daily the saved to the Church." 

Again, it means, "to embolden; to strengthen" — 
green's greek lex. 

Twenty times Orkodomeo used in the New Testa- 
ment is translated "to edify" and, it is the only word 
so translated. This word is used in Acts 9:30; 
I. Cor. 8:1; 10:23; and Eph. 4:12. "Will buikT 
means "to keep up/' in Matt. 23:29: "Ye build the 
tombs of the prophets/' or rather, "ye keep up the 
tombs." There had not been a living prophet for 



ORKODOMEO. 93 

four hundred years and hence, there was none to die, 
that they might build him a tomb; but they "kept up" 
the tombs of those who had lived. They did "keep 
up" or "renew the tombs." Either term, if applied to 
Christ's Church — keep up, or renew — will clearly show 
something was existing at the time Christ was speak- 
ing which could be kept up or renewed. And notice, 
Christ said "my church/' using the possessive case. 
So it was not a question of a new, future building so 
much as it was, to make additions to what was already 
built; keeping up; a renewing by adding the living to 
places emptied by death, and in making room for the 
swelling daily increase. 

A man once drove up to some men at work and 
asked: "What will you do here if left alone?" "We 
will build a house/' said one. "Yes, I see you have 
the foundation laid; but whose house?" "My father's, 
John Johnson," said the foreman or builder. The 
foreman had finished the foundation and wlas shaping 
the frame work,which should rise up on the founda- 
tion. Many days were to elapse before the building 
would appear. Now that carpenter's "will build" as 
a prophecy or promise is a parallel to the "will build" 
promise of the Savior. With each the words are 
retroactive, reaching back to the first stroke in the 
"will build." "My church/'' said Jesus. My Church? 
Yes indeed! Would that have made a false use of 
the possessive form? Could Jesus have said "my 
church' unless He had one in hand under His con- 
struction? Both Jesus and the carpenter were build- 
ers, who were building with a supplied material. 

He would not have used the possessive pronoun 



94 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

about a thing He did not possess ! Sense, truth, nor 
grammar would have been in the "My Church'' if He 
did not then possess it. If the building of the Church 
was future, then to speak the truth, He would have 
been compelled to say: "I will build a Church/' 
which wbuld have made all the difference in meaning. 
Again, "will build" is infinitive and is a part of our 
Lord's command to the Church. It will be brought 
to a period when the command reaches its period. 
The foundation hie laid was a working foundation 
under His eye while in life, and it was at work very 
quietly during the ten days' interval between the As- 
cension and Pentecost. 

"What did they do?" Why, they continued 
in prayer; they held a business meeting; 
they elected and ordained a successor to Judas, and 
increased their membership to 120 members! 
That was a good foundation on which to add the three 
thbusand! "I will make you fishers of men; I will 
build My Church." The second "I will" was a prom- 
ise of continuing the first "I will," made a year before 
on the shore of Galilee. After we read his final fare- 
well, "And lo, I am with you all the days, even to the 
end of the world," we can see it this way : When the 
angel shall stand with one foot on the land and one on 
the sea and swear by Him who liveth forever that 
"time shall be no more," then, and then only, will 
the Lord's building cease. 

Too Many Churches. 

Dr. Kerr also said : "There are too many churches 
to-day, we can get along with fewer, and some 



TOO MANY CHURCHES. 95 

day all will unite in one Church ; but not now." Why 
not all of us who believe that statement work and pray 
for it now 1 ? Every one who has had his eyes on the 
current events of this year (1904) has noted the ef- 
forts for the union of Presbyterian branches, the ef- 
fort of the Episcopalians to return to the Roman Catho- 
lic Church, also the union effected between the Con- 
gregational United Brethren and some other small 
churches in Ohio. 

Isaiah believed it and said : "All nations shall flow 
unto it," so we must be in good company when we 
join with the prophet. "All denominations shall break 
up and form one organization," he said. Yes, Doctor, 
Isaiah's danger signal hangs out and by observation 
the following words will be found : "Ye shall leave 
your name as a curse to My chosen, and the Lord shall 
slay thee and call His chosen by another name. — 65 115. 
Would it not be wise to hear his warning and break 
up before God's "slaying" begins? It appears that 
our brother repented of w r hat he said and in an apolo- 
getic way, said: "A Methodist should be found in a 
Baptist pulpit, and a Biaptist in a Methodist pulpit. A 
Presbyterian should be found in an Episcopal pulpit 
and an Episcopal minister in a Presbyterian pulpit. 
This should obtain all around the circle in an exchange 
of pulpits frequently." That is a pretty picture in 
words, a fine sight to the world! and very truly all 
Protestant Churches could do it most appropriately. 
But why mention Baptists and not Catholics? Bap- 
tists were never in the Roman Catholic Church as a 
part of it. They never assimilated with the Roman 
Catholic Church and are not protestants, and it is 



96 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

wrong to class them as such. Let us have a "Thus 
saith the Lord" before Baptists shall mingle in that 
way. If the Lord approves or commands such a 
course, it would be safe for us; otherwise it would be 
surrounded with danger. When Jeroboam was estab- 
lished as king over the revolting tribes, he established 
a service in which the religion of Baal was mixed with 
the temple service. That made his religion vicious. 
Finally, the high-handed sinning he established in 
Israel could not be thrown off by succeeding genera- 
tions. But it led them on to worse forms and prac- 
tices. As a punishment God drove them into captivity 
and to-day they are "lost tribes of Israel. ,, 

It is said twenty-one times in the Bible that Jero- 
boam caused Israel to sin. This is indeed a sad re- 
quiem to his memory sent from Heaven ! 

Judah copied Israel's form of religion and mixed 
with them in their worship, and they paid the penalty 
of seventy years in bondage for their folly. 

Is there no lesson in that for us? Shall we learn 
nothing from it? If a Baptist minister calls for 
help from a preacher not a Baptist, would he not 
be repeating Judah's mistake? If so, would it be a 
pollution of his service? See Ezekiel 8 and 44; 1-14; 
Zephaniah 3 14 and their references. Will that be 
enough to the wise who read these statements ? At the 
risk of being called "sectarian" in not approving that 
method of proving unity and fellowship of all the 
Christian people of the world, I will cite other Scrip- 
tures. See Num. 18:1-7; Deut. 5:30-33; 11:26-28; 
13:3-5; John 17:20-23. 

We are not opposed to the existence and presence of 



ONE CHURCH. 97 

other Churches, nor to the good that may be accom- 
plished by them. When the Apostles returned to 
Jesus, after a missionary tour, they reported the finding 
of one man who was preaching and casting out devils 
in Jesus' name. They wasted a part of their time in 
trying to induce that "one" to desist in his independent 
work, and follow them. "Let them alone," was the 
stinging rebuke of Jesus, "waste no time from your 
own personal work which I have assigned to you to 
either help or hinder independent workers, but you 
must keep on pressing closely your own organized 
work." But, to confess a truth, it is utterly incon- 
ceivable to our mind why, or how any one can think 
God wants more than one Church in this world when 
He constituted only one. Jesus prayed only for that 
one Church, "and all those who shall believe on Him 
through their (The Apostles) word." 

God gave a fine object lesson on the "One Church" 
doctrine, by making one Jewish nation, "a shadow" of 
the one Church. Ishmaelites and Arabs are descend- 
ants of Abraham, but they are not Jews, neither have 
they any claim on Canaan for a "possession," nor for 
a right to participate officially with the Jews in their 
worship. A Rabbi would resent an offer of any one 
to officially takes his place. 

Jewish religion and their ceremonies were "polluted" 
if these half brothers took a part in it. Even the 
Levites — the minister class of the Jews — were "sepa- 
rated" unto the bearing of the Ark, to the exclusion 
of all other tribes of the Jews. See Num. 21 15 ; Deut. 
10:8 and 18:6-8; Matt. 7:21-23, and again Jesus said: 
"Let them alone ! if the blind lead the blind, shall they 



98 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

not all fall into the ditch? This was as if He would 
say : "You can not give them light nor sight, neither 
will they hear you. If you join them in their wrong, 
you will be a partaker with them in their sins." 
Matt. 15:14; Isa. 9:13-17; Hosea 4:12-19; Malachi 
2:7-8. That is splendid sectarianism because it is of 
God. Does that not teach that God's children should 
be too busy with their own labor to help or hinder 
any other religion, and leave their own work neglected ? 

If a Church wants a series of sermons, or a meeting 
of days, and help to carry on the meeting is needed, 
Paul's rule, "Preferring one another in love," is safe, 
and ought to be good enough for God's children when 
they want help. 

Histories of Baptist" and Catholic Churches trace 
them back to the Apostolic era. There the Bible deals 
with the Church until the close of the first century. 
And the question is most natural: "Which is the true 
church, the Baptist or the Catholic?" Some law or 
rule ought to govern all investigations. A law in phys- 
ics may serve our purpose, viz. : A body set in motion 
will move in a straight line forever unless it is changed 
by some external force applied. Or, more briefly, we 
might say : Nothing can voluntarily stray from its orig- 
inal purpose, by its own power. 

Let this rule apply to the Church of Christ and then 
we can understand that if there is a church in error 
it was caused by a foreign force not originally in that 
church, which led it in error. If Christ established but 
one kind of church, then there would not have been 
but one kind to-day, if a force of error or perversion 
had not led into existence one of another kind. That 



SOME COMPARISONS. 99 

the Baptist and Catholic are as wide apart 
as the poles of the earth, needs no proof to a man who 
has attended but one service at each church. The 
church which is in closest conformity to the model 
church under the Apostles' hands at Jerusalem is less 
astray than the other. First then, the simplicity of the 
church at Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit moved that 
church. The Apostles were the pilots with no other 
apparent rank above the humblest member. All busi- 
ness was left to "the whole church." Next, her power 
was executive, not legislative. She obediently accepted 
God's law as final, without change or amendment, re- 
fusing on several occasions to promulgate a new law 
or a new commandment, or to interfere with Church 
Law as given by Jesus. Let any one visit a business 
meeting of a Baptist Church who never saw one. 
He will notice that the pastor and all the members are 
equal, and that business is transacted by common con- 
sent, and that the "whole church is pleased" at the 
decisions. If the pastor makes a ruling in some im- 
portant nteasure, any member not satisfied with the 
decision of the chair may appeal to the whole church 
over the head of the chairman's rulings. This shows 
that the voice of the church is democratic and greater 
than the pastor in the chair. * , 

From this simple action of the whole church in coun- 
cil, turn to hierarchal councils where only the great 
men are in council. Read their decisions, laws, etc., 
or their Certificates of indulgence to sin for loo days 
or seven years, issued by the priest for so much money. 
Indulgence to sin was never offered for sale by the 
Apostles in the primitive churches. Simon Magus 



L..QV 



100 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

made a blunder in that direction which cost him his 
soul. 

A stranger to our world, who should visit a Baptist 
service and then visit a Catholic service, would be tardy 
in believing that both served the same God. It has 
taken the Roman Catholic Church centuries to reach 
her present state, but she has been growing to it all 
thv. while. That the Roman Church and her "branches'* 
were coming, Christ foresaw, and gave warning. "Be 
not deceived," was said several times with varying in- 
terest to the church. It is our duty to look up the proof 
that the "deceiver" was coming, and the guise assumed. 
A few of the clearest statements to that end are given. 
The prophet long before had said : "The wiay is 
so plain that the wayfaring men, though fools, shall 
not err therein/ 9 but he had said earlier, "Woe to 
them that call evil good and good evil." Isa. 5 :20. 
See I. Sam. 16:14; 18:10; 19:9, 24; Jer. 23; II. Thess. 
2:9; Judges 9:15-23; I. Kings 22:15; Ezek. 14:6-15. 
Believe not every Spirit, but try the Spirits. I. John 
4:1. Take them not into your house, neither bid them 
God-speed. II. John 10. Christ put a blood-red dan- 
ger signal across the sky in His early ministry in these 
words : "For many will say to me in that day, Lord, 
Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in 
Thy name have cast out devils ? and in Thy name done 
many wonderful works ? And then will I profess unto 
them : I never knew you ; depart from me, ye that work 
iniquity." Matt. 7:22, 23. The Messiah, near the 
close of His life, to make us the more alert and save us, 
if a faithful warning would save us, spake again in the 
same strain, saying: "For false Christs shall arise, 



DECEIVERS. IOI 

and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and 
wonders, insomuch, that if it were possible, they shall 
deceive the very elect." Matt. 24:11 and 24. With 
such false Christs and false prophets disclosing signs 
and wonders great, there is no surprise in finding them 
leading an army whom they have deceived. People 
love to be deceived more than they love that which 
does not deceive. This will account for the deceived 
millions who will go to judgment in that state. Many 
minds are now shut in with darkness — minds that will 
not permit light to shine upon them. 

Deceivers. 

But, brother, go out among the people with Christ's 
word as a suggestion — "Deceived !" And whose tape- 
line will measure the depth of the wound? But it 
was to actually occur after Christ's day or He would 
not have said so. "But who knows where and how it 
occurred ?" has been offensively asked. Let Paul tell. 
Leaving Ephesus the last time he hanged on the neck 
of the brethren, weeping, and said : "For I know this ; 
that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter 
among you, not sparing the flock; also of your own 
selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things and 
draw away disciples after them." Acts 20:28-32. 
These were loving words about an impending evil to a 
.people whom Paul loved. Paul's friends at Ephesus, 
in sorrow and discord, were not alone. The evil one 
was getting in his work at Corinth and Thessalonica. 
Satan well knew that a movement must be popular, and 
he so led, that, the masses joined in the movement, and 
that a handsome following showed up. 



102 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

Corinth was south of Thessalonica about 200 miles 
and west of Ephesus about 350 miles. The sea gave 
a highway between these points which made them 
easy of access and a handsome circuit for those evi! 
reformers in their efforts to destroy the Church of God. 

Some Expelled Preachers. 

This is Paul's message to Corinth: "Satan himself 
is transformed into an angel of light; therefore it is 
no great thing if his ministers also be transformed 
into the ministers of righteousness/' II. Cor. 11 :i4,i5< 
Hymenseus and Alexander are the first, and it seems 

Those so transformed — the preachers — Paul named 
that Paul was chairman of the meeting when they were 
expelled. I. Tim. 1 119-20. Hymenseus 7 character is 
associated with Philetus as most vicious. And thus 
three names are recorded. II. Tim. 2:17; Demas was 
another who forsook Paul. "Having loved this present 
world and departed." II. Tim. 4:10. Making four 
anti-Christs up to the year A. D. 66. Paul shows that 
up to this time Linus was pastor at Rome. His 
name shines in the galaxy of good people at Rome. 
II. Tim. 4:21. But history shows him to be the leader 
of these four Antichrists. (II. John, 10.) A. D. 68. 

Some members in the year A. D. 68 went out as 
"Deceivers" and from their number and their follow- 
eis (Rev. 12:9) the Roman Catholic Church has 
evolved. It is not known at this day who was pastor 
at Corinth. It may have been Alexander or Hyme- 
naeus. They being associated in sin, may have been 
pastors jointly. And from there Paul had thrust them 
out of the ministry and the church, perhaps, A. D. 



SATAN AT WORK. 403 

60-64, and a year later Philetus was added to the list 
of deposed ministers. Demas appears to be the only 
one to have made a voluntary surrender of church 
membership. 

These men had drawn around them by attraction a 
nice following, and four eloquent men were well able 
to lead away members the same as they are to-day. 

Satan will not come in his own cloth — too much 
brimstone in it; neither will he allow his ministers to 
come in his name — it would not be popular. They are 
to come in Christ's name. Smooth, cultured, Chris- 
tian gentlemen, with no blemish in name, must go 
marked and branded "Christian" to preach "The doc- 
trine of devils." Sugar-coated pills go down well. 
Satan's business is to deceive, consequently his doctrine 
must be plausible — in Christ's name — "Christian" 
Matt. 23:13, 15. . 

Words and phrases as blinders must be employed, 
which are real apologies, when viewed aright. Such 
as : "What's the difference in churches ? How does it 
matter which church, so one is a Christian ? Isn't one 
church as good as another ? Can't I go to heaven out 
of one church as well as I can from another ?" 

Well, yes; if — Christ did not give His life for one 
.church only — if — a man-made church is as good as 
"The Church of God." 

Yes, my brother, if one religion is as good as another, 
and it matters not what a man believes, just so that 
he is honest. Yes — if believers are not the only sub- 
jects of baptism, and if baptism is not immersion. 

The question is misleading. God has made it our 
duty to find Christ and leave the result with Him. 



104 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

Those questions are soothing lullaby-cradles to rock 
us to sleep, quiet the mind and close up all investiga- 
tion. 

Christ made one church only. Satan has many 
churches. Our only business here is to find Christ. 
God is to bring Christ and the saints to Heaven when 
the end comes. If Satan, like Christ, can get to heavem 
he can carry his church members there. Christ will 
answer the other questions at the judgment. 

Another sad state was at work in human affairs be- 
hind Paul, and he revealed it to the saints at Thessalon- 
ica in the following statement: "For the mystery of 
in.-qnity doth already work; only he who now letteth 
will let (will hinder) until he be taken out of the way, 
and then shall that Wicked (one) be revealed, whom 
the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth, 
and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming. 
Even Him whose coming is after the working of Satan, 
with all power and signs of lying wonders. And with 
all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that per- 
ish ; because they received not the love of the truth 
that they might be saved. And for this cause God 
shall send them strong delusions that they should be- 
lieve a lie, that they all might be damned who be- 
lieveth not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteous- 
ness. " — II. Thess. 2:7-12. 

"Will bad men who are Baptists be saved, while the 
great host of good men and women, not Baptists, . be 
condemned? I can't agree with you. It savors too 
much of the Pharisaism' — 'Lord, I thank Thee/ etc., 
was the exclamation of a cultured lady. A learned 
and honored son of God said in reply: "No bad man 






JUDGMENT AS TO GOOD OR BAD. 10$ 

will be saved, and no good man will be lost. This is 
not a question of salvation, but loyalty to Jesus Christ 
and His commands. It is unfair to put the question 
thus. But it only discloses erroneous training — that 
salvation is to be had of the Church and not of Christ." 

We must leave all judgment as to good men or bad 
men with God, who said: "Whosoever shall break 
the least of these My commandments, and shall teach 
men so, shall be least in the kingdom. " This pen is 
slow to assume a personal responsibility in judgment 
of good and bad men over the prerogatives of God to 
judge. Rom. 14:4, 10-13; I. Cor. 10:29:33. 

A lady persists in these words : "Surely you do not 
mean to say that Baptist churches are the only churches 
in the land. Revelation speaks of The Seven churches 
of Asia/ such as the Baptist, the Methodist, the Presby- 
terian, etc." 

No, indeed, I do not mean to say that there are no 
other churches in the land but Baptist. I mean this : 
One of them was organized by Christ, and it is a Scrip- 
tural church ; the others are Christian churches, organ- 
ized by men, and not Scriptural. 

We might add Catholic, Greek, Episcopal and Luth- 
eran churches to complete your list of three to seven 
churches. I have read the Revelations and have made 
my conclusions this way: The "Seven churches of 
Asia" does not mean seven different kinds, as would 
be in seven different denominations. It is a well-known 
fact, that, at that time there was only one kind of 
church, and no denominations. If all those churches 
had been built by Methodist ministers they would have 
been Methodist churches ; if by a Presbyterian, then 



106 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

they would have been Presbyterian churches; and if 
they were built by Apostolic labor, they were of the 
same kind of churches as was the churches of which 
the Apostles were members. I have elsewhere proved 
that the Apostles were Baptists. 

All those churches were built before the year A. D. 
60. The first real division that occurred was led off 
by Linus, A. D. 68. He was pastor of the church at 
Rome, and possibly caused the first division at Ephesus. 



BIRTH OF DENOMINATIONS. 

Baptist Church. 

I have shown when and where Christ organized 
His church and I wish to tell when men organized 
churches. The Baptist was organized about the year 
30 of our present chronology. 

The Catholic Church 

began to take form A. D. 325, under Constantine, Em- 
peror of Rome, and was crowned with Gregory I, as 
first Pope 590. 

The Lutheran Church. 

Martin Luther was very bold and the leader among 
reformers, drawing away from the Catholic church. 
He took chances in losing his life by his bold leader- 
ship, and he established the Lutheran church, A. D. 
1527. 



BIRTH OF DENOMINATIONS. IO7 

The Episcopal Church, 

or Church of England, was established under King 
Henry VIII. Thomas Cromwell, a Baptist, was 
Henry's Prime Minister. Parliament was enthused to 
disown the authority of the Pope as only a foreign 
Bishop without any religious jurisdiction over England. 
And, with very slight changes of the Roman Ritual. 
Parliament and Henry established the Episcopal churclv 
A. D. 1534, seven years later than the Lutheran church. 
John Calvin, a French Catholic monk, under much 
hostility, succeeded in leading a reformation, and in 
the year A. D. 1535 the "Reformed Church" was es- 
tablished, which is now known as the 

Presbyterian Church. 

Their "First Buik of Discipline" was issued 27th Jan- 
uary, 1561. 

Congregationalists 

were first called "Independents" . Robert Brown, a 
school teacher was a leader in a "Dissent against the 
low standard of morals of the Episcopalians and Pres- 
byterians' in the reign of Elizabeth, Queen of England, 
and the Congregational Church was established in the 
year A. D. 1580. 

Methodists. 

In the year A. D. 1729, just two hundred and five 
years after the Episcopal Church was founded, John 



108 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

Wesley, a priest of that church, established the Method- 
ist Societies. 

History gives the following churches as products in 
America, with the dates of their origin : 

Cumberland Presbyterians, 1810. 

Baptists. 

The Baptists during their period of agitation 
from 1 780- 1 843 were sub-divided into Free Wills, 
Disciples, Seventh Day Adventists, Primitives and 
Missionaries. 

Free Wills: Benjamin Randall, having been cen- 
sured for preaching Anti-Calvinistic doctrine, broke 
away from the Baptists with his followers and estab- 
lished the Free Will Church 1780, which now numbers 
about 90,000. 

Disciples: The Disciples were introduced among 
the churches of the world by the leadership of Alex- 
ander Campbell. Mr. Campbell was admitted to mem- 
bership in the Brushy Run Church in Virginia on an 
irregular baptism administered by Mr. Luce. His 
disciples followed him into a separate organization 
from the Baptists. They "withdrew" A. D 1 . 1827. 
They now have about 1,000,000 members. 

Seventh Day Adventists: They were drawn away 
from the Baptists, chiefly by William Miller, a wealthy 
deacon of a Baptist Church A. D. 1843. He went 
daft on the doctrine of Christ's second advent into 
the world and gained a following of about 50,000. 
Most of these left him when his prophecy failed of 
fulfillment. 



BAPTIST CHURCHES. IO9 

Primitive Baptists: When Mr. Campbell wias ad- 
vocating reforms, anti-missions was one of his hobbies, 
but was driven from his hobby in a debate with N. L. 
Rice, a returned missionary from Burmah. When he 
departed from the Baptists he did not carry the seeds 
of discord which he planted. Anti-Mission seed was 
bound to germinate and bear fruit. 1833- 1836 were 
years of division between the Missionary and the Anti- 
Missionary members. The division carried about 
100,000 each way, making it nearly equal as to numbers. 
But now the Primitives have about 80,000 members 
and the Missionaries nearly five million ! If a dressed 
meat hog was equally divided into halves each half 
would be a "Primitive" half of that hog, so would the 
Hardshells and missionaries each be a "Primitive" 
half of the Baptists before their division. 

These dates show that all of them are too far this 
side of Christ or the writing of the Revelation to 
have been the ones named in Revelation as among the 
"seven churches of Asia." Those seven churches were 
founded by the Apostles and were the same in every 
particular as was the church in Jerusalem of which 
the Apostles were members. 

We can say "The Episcopal Church of America," 
"The Methodist Church, South." Nothing of the kind 
can be said of Baptist churches, as each is a separate, 
local, independent body, not dependent on the existence 
of any other church. Satan's first trial in meddling 
with God's work was to spoil God's first man. We 
know the result, but we are so very slow in recogniz- 
ing his efforts to defeat Christ with his Church! Sa- 
tan in his temptation, promised to make a better and 



110 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

wiser world of the woman than God had made. His 
promise was to be a radical improvement on God's 
workmanship, and he "Deceived her" and put her "In 
the transgression." When God made His Church, 
through which, as a medium, He would send a knowl- 
edge of salvation to man, Satan, with a critic's eye, 
stepped around it to lay his plans of spoliation, by an 
improvement. "Yes, this Church which God hath 
made is too simple and elementary. Fishermen from 
their nets can manage this simple affair. 1 must de- 
velop an imposing church, with an educated, proud, 
aristocratic clergy to rule it. I will have several 
kinds of churches and will make their names simple, 
catchy and elementary. I will have plain titles for 
the preachers in some of them, and in others I will 
have great and swelling names. I will continually 
multiply the lists of churches in my efforts to keep the 
people confused about them. I will even cause men 
to love their church, and its name more than they love 
God. Yes, I must begin a division in 'the church of 
God/ while it is under the eye and hand of the Lord's 
Apostles, so that I can always point back in proof of 
apostolic succession and feed division, hatred and dis- 
cord among men on that proof. I will fill it with many 
officers of high-sounding titles, which will make dea- 
con, pastor, teacher and apostle sound small," mused 
he, and in sinful glee at the ruin he would bring, he 
took an hour of rest, and then had the disciples called 
"Christians first at Antioch," as the beginning of his 
doleful work. 

This imagination may not be true, or it may be 
tame by the side of the facts. "A church" would not 



DIVISION OF FIRST CHURCHES. Ill 

"take" if sent out in "Satan's name ;" it must "branch" 
off from the church Christ built, that it will have a 
descended right to the name which Satan caused it 
to take — Christian — because of its easy application to 
all bodies claiming to be religious. His people must 
be clamorous for recognition as "Christians." "In 
that day shall seven women (churches) take hold of 
one man (Christ's Church), saying: We will eat our 
own bread and wear our own apparel, (we will be at 
no expense to you in dollars and cents). Only let us 
be called by Thy name (Christian — i. e., recognize us 
as such) to take taway our reproach." — Isa. 4:1. "All 
Evangelical churches." "All the Christian churches/' 
"Christendom," etc., do service under that vision of 
the prophet. 

Christ's warning came A. D. 30-33, and Paul's 
revelation probably 54-56. The leaven of "The mys- 
tery of iniquity" had gotten in its first worlt before 
the year 80, when John wrote his Epistles, John called 
the bolters — Antichrists — and said of them : "They 
went out from us, but they were not of us ; for if they 
had been of us, they would no doubt have continued 
with us; but they went out that they might be made 
manifest that they were not all of us," I. John 2:19. 
Well, John, what shall we do to those Antichrists? 
How shall we receive and treat them? Why? 'Re- 
ceive them not into your house (of worship), neither 
bid God-speed (as a religious sect of worshippers) 
lest ye become partakers of their evil deeds." Satan 
set those members among us so that he could easily 
"call them out" as having apostolic succession. We 
suppose that that refers to them as Antichrist preachers 



112 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

in our churches, and not as citizens in our homes. So 
there was, then, a derived church of Antichrists, 
which was brought out of God's underived Church, 
who went out into the world as "Unbelievers," "Per- 
seeutors," to deceive the nations." We have now 
found the power, teacher and agency that was at work, 
and the places where these powers were at work, 
which caused a part of them who were in God's church 
to depart from the straight line of duty on which the 
church was sent. 

A high degree of moral turpitude moves the man 
who acts and speaks according to these words of Christ 
and His Apostles. Some families are so divided 
among the churches in the land, that the preacher's 
mouth is often "muzzled" and can't speak as he wishes, 
unless he dares to offend by going where God's Word 
leads him. The members of families so divided are 
very "touchy." The preacher who has the courage 
of his convictions and don't wear a muzzle, "finds it 
needful to seek new fields," at times. 

It is the assent of students of church history, so far 
as I have consulted them on the question, that the 
popular "Branch" that "went out from us" finally 
culminated in the Catholic Church. See Matt. 15:14; 
Luke 17:21-24; I. John 4:1. History tells where and 
how the Catholic Church united with the state and 
then began the claim of a Universal Church, and how 
by that union she has woven fame, honor, power and 
glory into the folds of her mantle, and boasts of her- 
self as "The Mother of Harlots." 



ONE SHEPHERD, ONE FOLD. 113 

IN CONCLUSION. 
One Fold. 

Read John 10:1-14. In verses 11-14 Jesus declared: 
"I am the good shepherd/' Am? Yes, "am" was 
His word, showing a shepherdship then existing — 
not 1a future one, to exist later ! Jesus shows in verse 
16 that it is impossible for two folds to exist. He 
said there shall be one fold (or church) and one 
shepherd. There is but one Shepherd — Jesus — 
and He can not shepherd but one fold — church. Jesus 
was talking to Jews, and was proving that only one 
fold could exist in the one kingdom which He had es- 
tablished. Hie proved the presence of the kingdom 
to them in these words: "But if I with the finger 
of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God 
is come upon you." — Luke 11:20. Here, without 
doub* 'he kingdom was already upon his hearers. 
Now as to His church. Matt. 9:15-17: "And Jesus 
said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber 
mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But 
the days will come when the bridegroom shall be 
taken from them, and then shall they fast. No man 
putteth a piece of new cloth into an old garment; for 
that which is put in to fill up taketh from the garmeoit, 
and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put 
new wine into old bottles; else the bottles break, and 
the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish ; but they 
put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.. " 

These verses explain why the disciples were in such 
rapturous joy. They were the bride — of Christ, the 



114 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

Lamb. All know) the joy of a new-made bride. 
Jesus used the word "wine" to illustrate their intoxi- 
cated joy. He used "new cloth" in reference to their 
garments of grace for salvation, as freedom from 
Moses' law and shows a new state for the church. 

The Christian dispensation is as old as the gospel 
of the kingdom, which began with John in the wilder- 
ness (Mark i :i) ; and the final extent is to be "from 
sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the 
earth" (Psa. 72:8). Christ was to dwell in the midst 
of His Church. Lev. 26:10-12; Ezek. 37:26-28; 
Zech. 2:10. 

John the Baptist was "sent to manifest Jesus unto 
Israel" as a Savior (John 1:31), and to declare Him 
to be "a bridegroom." "He that hath the bride is the 
bridegroom, and therefore my joy is full." John 3:29. 
Moses made the testimony of two men good in any 
case. John and Jesus both bear testimony to the 
presence of the kingdom and the church.. Rev. 21 :g. 

Jesus was to assume absolute control over His 
church when He came. Isa. g;6 f 7; "For unto us a 
child is born, unto us a son is given, and the govern- 
ment shall be upon His shoulders, and His name shall 
be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, 
The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." 

Zech. 6:12, 13: "And speak unto him, saying, Thus 
speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man 
whose name is the BRANCH, and He shall grow 
up out of his place, and He shall build the temple of 
the Lord: Even He shall build the temple of the 
Lord; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and 



SETTING UP THE CHURCH. 115 

rule upon His throne ; and He shall be a priest upon 
His throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between 
them both." 

"The setting up of the church" must be while 
Jesus was here in the flesh. Dan. 2:44; John 17:4. 
Jesus did not teach in His church as "did the scribes 
and Pharisees" the law of Moses, "but as one having 
authority." The Jews were to be the first ones gath- 
ered into his fold, who were to be fed and the sick 
strengthened. Ezek. 34:11-17. We can see how this 
was fulfilled in Matt. 18:11-14. Luke 24:47, 48, and 
John 10:14-18 tell us how they were gathered; also 
I. Peter 2 :25 ; "The law and the prophets continued 
until John; since that time the kingdom has been 
preached, and the violent took it by force." Matt. 
11 :I2-I4; Miark 1 .-14, 15. This gospel is to be preached 
in all the world, until it comes to an end. Matt. 24 :I4. 
So if Jesus was divine, the kingdom was already up. 
Jesus said : "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, 
hypocrites ! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven 
against men : for ye neither go in yourselves, neither 
suffer ye them that are entering to go in." Matt. 
23:13. A question: Can Jesus pronounce a woe upon 
people for not entering a kingdom when there was 
none to enter? If Jesus had not a kingdom Himself, 
could He appoint one unto His disciples? Luke 
22:28-30. "Ye are they which have continued with 
Me in My temptations, and I appoint unto you a king- 
dom, as My Father has appointed unto Me ; that ye 
may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and 
sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." 

In making these statements to a brother high among 



Il6 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

ministers, he said : "I think you are in error and your 

point is wrong. 'The kingdom of God is 

righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost/ 
Rom. 14:17. The kingdom is not the church, and the 
church is not the kingdom. I do not accept it as you 
give it." 

These are the highest traits of the church. You 
would not want to baptize one, who was not in a state 
of joy and peace. The following verse of the same 
chapter says : "For he that in these things serveth 
Christ is acceptable to God and approved of men." I 
think, my brother, if you had learned that verse, that 
you would not have made your point on me. Verse 
19, the next one, exhorts us thus : "Let us, therefore, 
follow after the things which make for peace." 

II. Peter 1:11 says this: "For so an entrance shall 
be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting 
kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 
Peter wrote these words : "To them that have obtained 
like precious faith with us through the righteousness of 
God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." It is in evidence 
from these words that some may be in the church who 
are saved, but not in the kingdom. Many were in the 
kingdom in Christ's day who were not in the church, 
some of whom I know were saved. There is proof 
then that some were saved and some not, of both 
classes. 

Jesus in His life instituted His Supper. Was it 
put in the church ? If not, who has a right to put it in ? 
If Jesus put the Supper in the church, who as a right to 
to take it out, or to give it to them who are not in the 
church ? 



SETTING UP THE CHURCH. 117 

The great commission or command of Christ, was 
given ten days before Pentecost. Was it given to the 
church? If not, to what was it given! If it was not 
given to the church, then by what authority does the 
church exist — preach, baptize, eat the Lord's Supper 
and send out missionaries? 

Jesus was to sing in the church. How was the 
singing fulfilled if He had no church ? Mark. 14 126 : 
"And when they had sung a hymn, they went out unto 
the Mount of Olives." Heb. 2:12: "I will declare 
Thy name unto My brethren, in the midst of the church 
will I sing praise unto Thee." See also Miatt. 26:30; 
Psalm 22:22; 95:1; Isaiah 12:5; Jer. 31:12. 

It Has Been Shown That: 

1st. God set up the church. 

2d. It was set up on a mountain. 

3d. It was of prepared material. 

4th. He called it "My church." "The light of the 
world." 

5th. He said it was not of the world. 

6th. In it were placed the ordinances. 

7th. He commissioned it to preach the Gospel to 
all the world. 

Reflections. 

Moses was God-ward to Alaron, and Aaron was 
God-ward to the people before they left their old 
Egyptian bondage, and were baptized unto Moses in 
the sea and in the clouds after leaving. The blood of 



Il8 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

the Lamb broke their bondage before their departure, 

and they followed Moses by baptism through the sea, 

as we follow Christ out of the bondage of sin through 

baptism and into the church. 3* God designed to 

3* Marching through the Red Sea foreshadowed Chris- 
tian Baptism. The overshadowing cloud foreshadowed the 
over-shadowing of the Holy Spirit over the church. "The 
Children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land" under 
the cloud before they came to water. Pharaoh tried the water 
route in pursuit of the cloud. It destroyed him, not being 
"harnessed." 

dwell among His people, and directed Moses to erect 
a tabernacle in which He might dwell. An ark was 
to be made and put in that tabernacle, which was to 
contain the "testimonies of the Lord." After the 
erection of the tabernacle, there must be a sacrifice 
and blood shedding, as God could not meet man in 
peace, only in stains of blood ; hence, the dedication of 
the tabernacle with blood. Heb. 9:19-22. When the 
tabernacle was up, and all vessels and ministers in their 
places as assigned, the dedication by blood took place. 
Heb. 10:9-12. 

This tabernacle on earth represents the church as 
she is journeying to the promised land, leading the 
world in the way of righteousness. The tabernacle 
was built of prepared material, and so was the church. 
The tabernacle was built under the immediate personal 
supervision of Moses; the church was built by the 
hand of Jesus. The tabernacle was dedicated with 
blood after its completion. So with Jesus; after He 
had completed His church with its ordinances and 
ministry He dedicated it with His own blood. Im- 
mediately after the completion of the tabernacle, the 
cloud in which God revealed Himself settled down 



BEAUTIES OF THE CHURCH. II9 

over it, to protect and guide the Jews in the right way. 
In like manner, the Holy Spirit came down into the 
church, after the dedication of the church by 
the blood of Jesus, and He sent the Holy Spirit down 
to the church to abide in her forever, to guide her 
while she bears the gospel of truth to the ends of the 
world. — Isa. 13:10; Amos 8:9. After he was cruci- 
fied, "a cloud overshadowed the whole earth with 
darkness" to entirely shut out the old dispensation 
from the new, while Jesus was yet alive upon the 
earth. 

The Glorious Finale of the Church. 

It gives us part of the prophets delighted dream-life 
to read his words, which tell of some of the enfolded 
glories of the church yet to unfold. There are some 
new heights in grandeur yet to see. Simplicity sublime 
will be hers when "beauty is given — to remove — ashes 
— of present struggles. The oil of joy will be given 
— in place of mourning. Garments of praise will re- 
move the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called 
trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that 
He might be glorified." — Isa. 61 13. 

In that vision the seer had his telescope on a high 
angle. He was drawing a focus on a point of time 
beyond our present day. 

Ezekiel had also trained his field glass at long range 
on future happenings and espied beauties yet 
unseen. 37:21-28. This is a scene not yet enacted. 
In it God promises to find all the lost tribes of Israel 
and restore them with Judah back in Palestine. He 



120 THE FIRST CHURCH. 

will not let them be two nations any more, nor will 
he let their land be divided into two kingdoms. Their 
uncleanness is to be removed, which means thjeir 
unbelief. And Christ, as David, is to be their Prince 
forever. The covenant of peace (John 14:27; and 
20:21) is to be made with them. No more partings 
nor heart-breakings are to occur after their restora- 
tion, and their "uncleanness" of their present unbe- 
lief in Jesus is removed. Earth, animal and human 
nature are all to be renovated. No more thorns or 
briars of life to spring up, and there shall be "no 
more digging with a mattock — in exhausting, killing 
labor. That day shall be for the sending forth of 
"The lesser cattle" when there is no more need of a 
gospel mattock to dig up the places of sin. "Defile- 
ment will be no more." "The everlasting covenant of 
peace will be with them." 

Parallels 

which show how prophecies in the old Testament were 
fulfilled in the New : 



But now thus saith the But he that entereth in by 

Lord that created thee, O Ja- the door is the shepherd of 

cob, and he that formed thee, the sheep. To him the porter 

O Israel, Fear not : for I openeth ; and the sheep hear 

have redeemed thee, I have his voice: and he calleth his 

called thee by thy name; own sheep by name, and 

thou art mine. — Isaiah 45:1. leadeth them out. — John 10: 

2-3- 

Look upon Zion, the city Speak not evil one of an- 

of our solemnities : thine eyes other, brethren. he that 

shall see Jerusalem a quiet speaketh evil of his brother, 

habitation, a tabernacle that and judgeth his brother, 

shall not be taken down ; not speaketh evil of the law, and 



THE FIRST CHURCH. 



121 



one of the stakes thereof judgeth the law; but if thou 
shall ever be removed, neith- judge the law, thou art not 
er shall any of the cords a ;doer of tjhe law, but a 
thereof be broken. But judge. There is one law- 
there the glorious Lord will giver, who is able to save and 
be unto us a place of broad to destroy : who art thou that 
rivers and streams; wherein judgest another? — James 4: 
shall go no galley with oars, 11-12. 
neither shall gallant ship pass 
thereby. For the Lord is 
our judge, the Lord is our 
lawgiver, the Lord is our 
king; he will save us. — Isa. 

33 120-22. 



Behold my servant, whom 
I uphold; mine elect, in 
whom my soul delighteth; 1 
have put my spirit upon him ; 
he shall bring forth judg- 
ment to the Gentiles. He 
shall not cry, nor lift up, 
nor cause his voice to be 
heard in the street. A bruised 
reed shall he not break, and 
the smoking flax shall he not 
quench : he shall bring forth 
judgment unto truth. He 
shall not fail nor be dis- 
couraged till he have set judg- 
ment in the earth: and the 
isles shall wait for his law. 
— Isa. 42:1-4. 



That it might be fulfilled 
which was spoken by Esaias 
the prophet, saying, : Behold 
my servant, whom I have 
chosen ; my beloved, in whom 
my soul is well pleased; I 
will put my spirit upon him, 
and he shall shew judgment 
to the Gentiles. He shall not 
strive, nor cry; neither shall 
any man hear his voice in 
the streets. A bruised reed 
shall he not break, and smok- 
ing flax shall he not quench, 
till he send forth judgment 
unto victory. And in his 
name shall the Gentiles trust. 
—Matt. 12:17-21. 



< O Zion, that bringest good 
tidings, get thee up into the 
high mountain, O Jerusalem, 
that bringest good tidings, 
lift up thy voice with 
strength; lift it up, be not 
afraid ; say unto the cities of 
Judah, Behold your God! 
Behold, the Lord God will 
come with strong hand, and 
his arm shall rule for him: 
behold, his reward is with 
him, and his work before 
him. He shall feed his flock 



And, behold, there was a 
mian in Jerusalem, whose 
name was Simeon; and the 
same man # was just and de- 
vout, waiting for the conso- 
lation of Israel : and the Holy 
Ghost was upon him. ^ And 
it was revealed unto him by 
the Holy Ghost, that he 
should not see death, be- 
fore he had seen the Lord's 
Christ. And he came by the 
Spirit into the temple: and 
when the parents brought in 



122 



THE FIRST CHURCH. 



like a shepherd: he shall 
gather the lambs with his 
arm, and carry them in his 
bosom, and shall^ gently lead 
those that are with young. — 
Isa. 40:9-11. 



For unto us a child is 
born, unto us a son is given: 
and the government shall be 
upon his shoulder: and his 
name shall be called Wonder- 
ful, Counsellor, The mighty 
God, The everlasting Father, 
The Prince of Peace. Of 
the increase of his govern- 
ment and peace there shall be 
no end, upon the throne of 
Dvaid,and upon his kingdom, 
to order it, and to establish 
it with judgment and with 
justice from henceforth even 
for ever. The zeal of the 
Lord of hosts will perform 
this. — Isa. 9:6, 7. 

And there was given him 
dominion, and glory, and a 
kingdom, that all people, na- 
tions, and languages, should 
serve him : his dominion is 
an everlasting dominion, 
which shall not pass away, 
and his kingdom that which 
shall not be destroyed. — Dan- 
iel 7:14. 



the child Jesus, to do for 
him after the custom of the 
law, Then took he him up hi 
his arms, and blessed God, 
and said, Lord, now lettest 
thou thy servant depart in 
peace, according to thy word : 
For mine eyes have seen thy 
salvation, which thou hast 
prepared before the face of 
all people; A light to lighten 
the Gentiles, and the glory of 
thy people Isiael. — Luke 2: 
25-32. 

And this word, Yet once 
more, signifieth the removing 
of those things that are 
shaken, as of things that are 
made, that those things 
which can not be shaken may 
remain. Wherefore we re* 
ceiving a kingdom which can 
not be moved, let us have 
grace, whereby we may serve 
God acceptably with rever- 
ence and godly fear: For our 
God is a consuming fire. — 
Hebrews 12:27-29. 



All things are delivered 
unto me of my Father: and 
no man knoweth the Son, but 
the Father. — iMatt. 11 :27. 

And Jesus came and spake 
unto them, saying, All power 
is given unto me in heaven 
and in earth. Go ye there- 
fore and teach all nations, 
baptizing them in the name 
of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost: Teaching them to 
observe all things whatso- 
ever I have commanded you : 



THE FIRST CHURCH. 



123 



And speak unto him, say- 
ing, Thus speaketh the Lord 
of hosts, saying, Behold the 
man whose name is The 
BRANCH; and he shall 
grow up out of his place, and 
he shall build the temple of 
the Lord: Even he shall 
build the temple of the Lord; 
and he shall bear the glory, 
and shall sit and rule upon 
his throne; and he shall be 
a priest upon his throne : and 
the counsel of peace shall be 
between them both. — Zech. 
6:12, 13. 

And in the days of these 
kings shall the God of heav- 
en set up a kingdom, which 
shall never be destroyed : and 
the kingdom shall not be 
left to other people, but it 
shall break in pieces and con- 
sume all these kingdoms, and 
it shall stand for ever. — Dan. 
2:44. 

Therefore they shall come 
and sing in the height of 
Zion, and shall flow together 
to the goodness of the Lord, 
for wheat, and for wine, and 
for oil, and for the young 
of the flock and of the herd : 
and their soul shall be as a 
watered garden; and they 
shall not sorrow any more 
at all. — Jer 31 :i2. 

But in the last days it 
shall come to pass, that the 
mountain of the house of the 
Lord shall be established^ in 
the top of the mountains, 



and, lo, I am with you al- 
way, even unto the end of the 
world. Amen. — Matt. 28:18- 
20. 

And Jesus answered and 
said unto him, Blessed art 
thou, Simon Bar-jona : for 
flesh and blood hath not re- 
vealed it unto thee, but my 
Father which is in heaven. 
And I say also unto thee, 
That thou art Peter, and upon 
this rock I will build my 
church; and the gates of hell 
shall not prevail against it. — 
Matt. 16:18. 



He shall be great and shall 
be called the son of the High- 
est: and the Lord God shall 
give unto him the throne of 
his father David : And he 
shall reign over the house of 
Jacob for ever; and of his 
kingdom there shall be no 
end. — Luke 1 '.32, 33. 

And when they had sung 
an hymn, they went out into 
the mount of Olives. — Mark 
14 '.26. 

And when they had sung 
an hymn, they went out into 
the mount of Olives. — Matt. 
26 :30. 



And it came to pass in 
those days, that he went out 
into a mountain to pray, and 
continued all night in prayer 
to God. And when it was 



124 



THE FIRST CHURCH. 



and it shall be exalted above day, he called unto him his 

/the hills; and people shall disciples: and of them he 

flow unto it. And many na- chose twelve, whom also he 

tions shall come^ afnd say, named apostles.— Luke 6:12, 

Come, and let us go up to 13. 

the mountain of the Lord, 

and to the house of the God 

of Jacob; and he will teach 

us of his ways, and we will 

walk in his paths : for the 

law shall go forth of Zion, 

and the word of the Lord 

from Jerusalem. — Micah 4:1, 

2. 



And he straitly charged 
them that they should not 
make him known. And he go- 
eth up into a mountain, and 
calleth unto him whom hq 
would; and they came unto 
him. And he ordained 
twelve, that they should be 
with him, and that he might 
send them forth to preach. 
And to have power to heal 
sicknesses, and to cast out 
devils: And Simon he sur- 
named Peter. — Mark 3 :I2- 
16. 



And it shall come to pass 
in the last days, that the 
mountain of the Lord's 
house shall be established in 
the top of the mountains, and 
shall be exalted above the 
hills; and all nations shall 
flow unto it. And many peo- 
ple shall go and say, Come 
ye, and let us go up to the 
mountain of the Lord, to the 
house of the God of Jacob; 
and he will teach us of his 
ways, and we will walk in his 
paths : for out of Zion shall 
go forth the law, and the 
word of the Lord from Jeru- 
salem. — Isa. 2.2, 3. 

And they shall call them, And Jesus, walking by the 
The holy people, The re- sea of Galilee, saw two 
deemed of the Lord: and brethren Simon called Peter, 
thou shalt be called, Sought and Andrew his brother, cast- 
out, A city not forsaken. — ing a net into the sea: for 
Isa. 62:12. they were fishers. And he 

saith unto them, Follow me, 
and I will make you fishers 
of men. And they straight- 
way left their nets, and fol- 
lowed him. And going on 
from thence, he saw other 
two brethren, James the 
son of Zebedee, and John his 
brother, in a ship with Zebe- 
dee their father, mending 



THE FIRST CHURCH. 12$ 



their nets; and he called 
them. And they immediately 
left the ship and their 
father, and followed him. — 
Matt. 4:18-22. 

Sing and rejoice, O'daugh- And God hath set some 

ter of Zion : for, lo, I come, in the church, first apostles, 

and I will dwell in the midst secondarily prophets, thirdly 

of thee, saith the Lord. And teachers, after that miracles, 

many nations shall be joined then gifts of healings, helps, 

to the Lord in that day, and governments, diversities of 

shall be my people: and I tongues. — 1 Cor. 12:28. 
will dwell in the midst of 
thee, and thou shalt know 
that the Lord of hosts hath 
sent me unto thee. — Zech. 2: 
10, 11. 



BOOK TWO, 

It becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. . . I have 
given you an example. — Jesus. 

Keep the ordinances as I delivered them unto you. — Paul. 



CHRISTIAN OCTAVES. 

Matt. 5:3-11: "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is 
the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn for 
they shall be comforted Blessed are the meek : for they shall 
inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and 
thirst after righteousness : for they shall be filled. Blessed 
are the merciful : for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are 
the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the 
peacemakers : for they shall be called the children of God. 
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness* 
sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye,, 
when men\ shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say 
all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." PhiL 
4:8: "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatso- 
ever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatso- 
ever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatso- 
ever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and 
if there be any praise, think on these things." 



NEW TESTAMENT BAPTISM. 



Its Action, Its Value, Its Effect — According to Christ. 

"New Testament Baptism — What is it?" has been 
the question of many learned pens in such volumes as 
Theodosia Ernest, vol. I ; Grace Truman, the Little 
Baptist, Carson and others. All of them have treated 
the subject in a most unique manner, with which one 
scarce could tire until he has finished their pages. 
And besides them there are others, until it is seem- 
ingly an exhausted topic with nothing left for my pen 

Many of the writers on baptism are quite too schol- 
arly for the ordinary reader. Often in his effort at 
clearness he darkens rather than brightens counsel for 
the unlearned. These pages are intended to be helpful 
to the unschooled reader. 

To show a church complete, it is necessary to show 
her ordinances and the law that compels the use of her 
ordinances. There are two, and only two, church 
ordinances, viz. : Baptism and the Lord's Supper. To 
write up a church and not write up her ordinances 
would be like putting an eagle on exhibition with his 
wings plucked out. 

The value of Baptism is a phase of the question 
which I have not found in print, save as I get it from 
The Book of God. I shall also speak of the effect 
of Baptism. 

Baptism has two sides which shall be treated sep- 



I30 EAPTISM. 

arately. It can be illustrated in the description of a 
silver dollar, which lies before me. The dollar has 
two faces. On one the head and face of a woman 
is the miost prominent feature. The back of her head 
is covered with a curiously shaped cap. One blade 
and two heads of wheat are firmly bound to her head 
with a close fitting band, on which is the word "Lib- 
erty" in small capital letters. "E Pluribus Unum'" 
in large capitals forms part of a circle over her head 
Under the head is dated 1890. Thirteen stars com- 
plete the circle around the margin. On the other 
face the American eagle, with open wings, is the first 
thing attracting attention. In his claws are three 
arrows and ia branch from; a tree, which is neatly in- 
closed by a laurel wreath so tied in the centre with 
a loop knot as to form a small "o" under it. In old 
English letters, forming a straight line just above the 
bird's head are the words "In God we Trust." 
"United States of America/' in large, plain capi- 
tals forms a part of a circle over the bird, reaching 
about two-thirds of the distance around the margin, 
and "One Dollar" completes the circle under the 
bird. The laws on coinage require all this to make 
it a legal dollar. This is not all concerning it. A 
certain number of grains of pure silver and so many 
of alloy are required, which give it hardness and sound. 
It must measure up to a required diameter across its 
face, and fill a certain thickness. It must be made in 
a United States mint. A failure in any particular 
mlakes it a counterfeit dollar. It is a crime to use 
money not so made. This dollar has a commercial 
value and definitely represents a stable government. 



BAPTISM. IJl 

My Bible also lies open before me at the third chap- 
ter of Matthew. Its chief subject matter is baptism, 
which has a Scriptural value that represents the cur- 
rency of the kingdom of God, the most stable of all 
governments. A failure to comply with the law of 
baptism when baptizing makes it counterfeit and a 
crime. We have no authority to make substitutes or 
changes of the evident meaning of words in the Bible. 
It would be a criminal act, for which we might escape 
punishment in this life, but our final rewards will be 
this : "We shall receive according to that which we 
have done in the body, whether good or evil." The 
only law we have for Christian baptism is in the new 
Testamjent. It is among the unfair things to go the 
law of Moses concerning sprinkling, and burnt offer- 
ings under the law, to prove a Scriptural water bap- 
tism in the New Testament, or to dodge any statement 
of baptism by saying that it is a spiritual baptism. 

If humanity protects its currency with stringent 
laws, is it not just that God should have laws no less 
stringent covering His currency? If non-observance 
of law in coining money makes us counterfeiters, and 
liable to be punished, would not counterfeiting God's 
law be greater in proportion to the difference in the 
two kingdoms? May not men know that anything 
offered as God's law apart from it, would be a high 
crime against it? Human government calls for so 
much — no more, no less — as obedience to law. God 
had also required so much — no more no less — as obe- 
dience to His law in baptism to make it legal and 
scriptural, and to meet the end for which, and to 
which it was intended. "Whosoever shall keep the 



132 BAPTISM. 

whole of the law and yet offend in one point is guilty 
of all." James 2:10. 

Let us read again all the third chapter of Matthew ; 
and if we read it carefully the following analysis— like 
the cream in new milk — will rise to the top. Some 
one — John — wias preachng in the wilderness of Judea. 
God sent out unto Him "Jerusalem, Judea and all they 
round about Jordan" to hear Him preach. After they 
heard him they considered his message. It brought 
a "sorrow for sin that worked repentance into salva> 
tion that needeth not to be repented of." This met 
John's demand, "Bring forth fruit meet for repent- 
ance," and so in this confession they asked for baptism 
as a seal of their faith "In Him who is to come" in the 
same manner as we ask for baptism in the "Name" 
of Him who has come. 

John was establishing the foundation principles of 
the kingdom before the arrival of the king, and they 
have been the standard since then until now. The 
order was — preaching, hearing, believing, repenting 
and sealing their faith by Baptism. If John's bap- 
tism is not a standard for to-day, when will we get 
a standard for baptism? 

Jesus epitomized the order of John's preaching in 
the command, "Go ye into all the world, preach the 
gospel to every creature, and he that believeth, and is 
baptized, shall be saved." This great command or 
commission covers all John did in preaching and bap- 
tizing. The last part of the command added to the 
first part "Teaching them to observe all things what- 
soever I have commanded you" covers all that any 
preacher can do at the present day, or any other day. 



BAPTISM. 133 

The formula to be observed by preachers in observ- 
ing obedience to the command was amplified by Paul's 
pen to the Romans in the tenth chapter. He said : 

Rom. 10:8-15: "But what saith it? The word is 
nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that; 
is, the word of faith, which we preach : That if thou 
shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt 
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from 
the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man 
believeth unto righteousness ; and with the mouth con- 
fession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture 
saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be 
ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew 
and the Greek : for the same Lord over all is rich unto 
all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon 
the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall 
they call on him in whom they have not believed? and 
how shall they believe in him of whom they have not 
heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 
And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it 
is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that 
preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of 
good things. 

I. Cor. 1 :2i. For after that in the wisdom of God 
the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by 
the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 

Mark 12:19. And Jesus answered him, The first 
of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel ; The Lord 
our God is one Lord : 

Mark 16:15-16. And he said unto them, Go ye into 
all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but 
he that believeth not shall be damned. 



134 BAPTISM. 

Rom. I :i6. For I am not ashamed of the gospel 
oi Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation 
to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also 
to the Greek. 

Ezek. 33:1-11. Again the word of the Lord came 
unto me, saying, Son of man, speak to the children of 
thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the 
sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a 
man of their coasts and set him for their watchman: 
If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he 
blow the trumpet, and warn the people. : Then whoso- 
ever heareth the sound of the trumpet, land taketh not 
warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his 
blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the 
sound of the trumpet, and took not warning ; his blood 
shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall 
deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword 
come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be 
not warned; if the sword come, and take any person 
from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity ; but 
his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. So 
thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto 
the house of Israel ; therefore thou shalt hear the word 
at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say 
unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die, 
if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his 
way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but 
his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, 
if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; 
if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his in- 
iquity ; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Therefore, O 



BAPTISM. 135 

thou so|n of man, speak unto the house of Israel; 
Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our 
sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should 
we then live? Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord 
God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; 
but that the wicked turn from his way and live : turn 
ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, 
O house of Israel ? 

These fundamental, foundation principles seem to 
be clear enough for any clear-minded school boy of 
ten. 

Let us examine some of the conditions necessary to 
make baptism legal and scriptural. Moses and Christ 
made "Hearing the first of all laws." Until one has 
a personal responsibility before God, it may not be 
said that they can "hear," and is not, therefore, a sub- 
ject of gospel address. To such, the gospel does not 
apply, and his baptism is counterfeit, since it is not 
of "hearing/ Hearing brings faith, and "whatso- 
ever is not of faith is sin." 

I have been told that "Jesus took little children in 
His arms and blessed them; therefore if you want in- 
fant baptism, there it is." Well, yes — the baptism of 
blessing, but not of w&ter. The statement would prove 
any other question called for as easily as it would ap- 
ply to water baptism. I am urged that God said He 
would "sprinkle the people/' Yes, God promised that 
to Jews only after He had gathered them from among 
the heathen and purified them, but He did not lay that 
duty on man, or church, but reserved it to Himself. 
Ezek. 36:25. The law of Moses calling for water 
sprinkling must be "mixed with the ashes of a red 



I36 BAPTISM. 

heifer." God would sprinkle the Jewis, after their 
return to Palestine from among the nations whither 
He had scattered them, with clean, unmixed, or pure 
water. This action of sprinkling and gathering are 
both in the future. 

Let us read verses 24 and 25, and the statejnent is 
so plain that comment is unnecessary: 

"For I will take you from among the heathen, and 
gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into 
your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water upon 
you, and ye shall be clean from all your filthiness; 
from all your idols will I cleanse you." 

These words tells us wlhat God Himself will do to 
the Jews on their return to their land in Palestine. 

Anyone, after one moment of thought, will note that 
the Jews are still "dispersed" and that that sprinkling 
is yet a future act to be. 

That sprinkling will not be in the nature of Chris- 
tian baptism. It means a purifying process that God — 
not man — will lead them through. It will, for one 
thing, be separation from their sin of rejecting Jesus. 
Sprinkling, then, would represent a separation. Water 
is always used to cleanse ; hence the sentence is typical 
of what God will do to the Jews on their return to 
their country in cleansing — not an actual fact, as ex- 
pressed in the sentence. 

After "HEARING" THE GOSPEL preached 
which brings "belief" in Jesus Christ as a Savior, 
it will work a godly sorrow for sin. This state 
will secure the mediatorial ministry of Jesus Christ, at 
God's right hand, who will grant "repentance unto Is- 
rael and the forgiveness of sin." After "Belief" comes 



FAITH AND REPENTANCE. I37 

i 

"Repentance that worketh a godly sorrow for sin un- 
to salvation that needeth not to be repented of." "Faith 
towards Jesus Christ" comes in at this point, and when 
it is established, it will bring "Peace with God." Peace 
with God means reconciliation and adoption into the 
heavenly family as "Sons of God." 

We are now ready to make an "Oral confession" of 
Jesus "unto salvation," and have these advances closed 
up by baptism! as the climax to be attained. Accord- 
ing to the Scripture models, no life was completed and 
none went on their way rejoicing until after they were 
baptized. In fact, none were satisfied, until baptism 
was administered on their personal demand for it. 

"Faith and repentance are the underlying principles, 
the foundation of the Christian religion, and there is 
no Christian religion without them." — B. H. Carroll 
of Texas. Heb. 6:1, Acts 20:20:21. 

"Repentance is not a thing to be done once and 
ended. From the very nature of man it is not an 
act, but a state that acts like faith through life. Dam- 
nation lies out before a sinner, whither he is tending, 
Salvation lies in the other, and repentance is a 
point, a pivot, on which he is balanced and left free to 
return to Christ." — First Principles. 

Every science has some elementary principle as its 
foundation, without which it can not exist. Grammar 
could not express an action without a verb and a noun 
on which that action is exerted. Mathematics would be 
helpless if bereft of addition and subtraction. The 
same is true of religion with reference to Repentance 
and Faith. To destroy them is to destroy religion. 



I38 BAPTISM. 

With no faith in God, baptism is meaningless. Priests 
and Elders had no faith in Christ, as Christ as the 
Messiah, and that was their only reason for rejecting 
His baptism. — Luke 20 14-7. 

Hearing, Belief, Repentance, Faith, Confession — 
all are given in this order in the New Testament — are 
fundamental principles in religion. Acts 20:20-21; 
Heb. 6:1, say that preaching Repentance and Faith 
are profitable fundamental principles. Christ said : 
"He that believeth and is baptized," yoking up together 
belief and baptism. Peter's sermon at Pentecost made 
the people "hear" because they understood. Matt. 3; 
Rom. 10:9-10; Matt. 10:32-33. After hearing him 
they had faith in Christ, and cried out anxiously, "Men 
and brethren, what shall we do ?" It forced from 
them a confession of their need and a question of what 
to do? Now, notice the order closely. Peter could 
not be wrong in his advice that day, having just been 
clothed with the Holy Ghost. Look, while he leans 
forward towards them, as if with outstretching hands 
to meet them half way, his eyes aflame and his face 
radiant with delight. Pausing a moment to catch the 
attentive ear of that expectant throng, in tenderest 
eloquence he cried out, "Repent and be baptized, every 
one of you." Peter had made them hear and believe, 
so his advice started at the middle point at Repentance, 
and ended in baptism without which, no religious lifei 
is complete. 

There was a throng believing very anxiously in 
Jesus, and certainly had faith in their cry, "What shall 
we do? We feel that something else is now highly 
necessary on our part. Tell us what to do." Peter 



BAPTISM. I39 

threw Repentance between belief and baptism, though 
yoked up by Christ. Taking Christ's order as exem- 
plified in Peter's demand makes belief, faith, repent- 
ance and baptism, a chain of events. 

Belief, Repentance, Faith and Confession is a full 
set of harness, and Hearing is the guiding reins. 
None of the elementary principles are visible, but 
baptism is, and its office is to serve as the exponent of 
them, and to give them their power. Their power is 
to become the Sons of God. "For gave He power to 
to them to become the Sons of God, that believe on 
His Name." — John 1 :i2. Christ came voluntarily to 
John with a confession, and John made his confession 
to Christ of his need of worthiness, and Christ of His 
need of John's baptism, that both may "fill all right- 
eousness." John and Christ both confessed to each 
other. Christ baptized John with a statement and a 
request, and John baptized Christ in water. Both 
pleased God and that was the "all righteousness" 
for them to fulfill. Of this confession, the emphatic 
Diaglot Bible renders it: "It becometh us to 
establish every ordinance of the kingdom." Paul 
makes the law come into our hands to "Establish" 
"Do we then make void the law through faith? God 
forbid; yea, we establish the law." — Rom. 3:31. If 
we receive the law of baptism after we learn it, and in 
faith accept baptism, then we join hands with each 
other, with John the Baptist and Christ, in "establish- 
ing" the law of baptism. Our faith is woven into two 
things: a public confession — "before men" — "by the 
mouth" (Paul, Rom. 10:10; Matt. 10:32). This con- 



140 BAPTISM. 

fession is a condition that allows us to receive bap- 
tism. Matt. 3:6; Acts 19:4^5; 13:24; Mark 1:4; Acts 
10:47-48. Baptism is a part of that confession, for it 
becomes the exponent of our confession of faith "by 
the mouth." Baptism makes good a verbal confes- 
sion, and shows confession to be no good until it is 
closed up by baptism. The situation may be diagram- 
med thus: 

f Belief "j 

Hearing brings < p ?r \ Baptism 

(^ Confession J 

Baptism is the historic word or exponent of all be- 
fore it in the diagram — ex out of, the parts of all be* 
fore it. Baptism becomes the sum of all the religious 
teaching that precedes it, hence it is an exponent or 
history of what we have heard and felt and believed in 
religion. 

Belief, Repentance and Faith may often succeed 
each other very quickly. 

"Faith came by hearing the word of God. (Rom. 
10:17). This was the order on Pentecost: (1) Peter 
first preached, (2) the people heard, (3) they believed, 
(4) they repented, and (5) were baptized. (Acts 
2:36-42). In various cases of conversion recorded in 
Acts it is stated, as in this case, the people heard, be- 
lieved, and were baptized. This means of course, they 
also repented. (See Acts 9:5, 17, 18; 10:38-43, 48; 
16:13-15, 31-33; J 8:8; 19:4, 5) —Advance S. S. Quar- 
terly Lesson on Acts 8:3-25." 

The action of baptism is a question settled without 



BURIED IN BAPTISM. I4I 

question to the devout student of the New Testament. 
Water is the element to be used, as God never men- 
tioned wind, sand, ashes, nor oil for aise in baptism. 
"God sent me to baptize with water," repeated John, 
and it seems clear that it must be in much water. 
Much water or enough water to "wash our bodies in 
clean water" is called for by Paul in Heb. 10 :22. John 
was baptizing at Enon, because there was much water 
tnere (John 3 :23), just as 1 wash, baptize my hands in 
mtach water by plunging in, immersing them. 

"Are you sure of that?" "Well, yes, quite sure, 
John was baptizing in Jordan, the man he baptized 
was in Jordan also, or John could not have baptized 
him in Jordan." 

John could very easily baptize a man in Jordan, but 
it would have been utterly impossible to baptize with 
Jordan, as the Jordan could not be used in baptizing. 
"Both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water" 
(Acts 8 138), and "immediately coming up out of the 
water" (Mark 1:10), must be done in quick succes- 
sion that both a real burial (Rom. 6:4) and a real 
resurrection (Col. 2:12) is made of a live "new crea- 
ture," which will put us in a state of "righteousness" 
(Matt. 3 115), and gives us "the answer of a good con- 
science towards God." 1 Peter 3:21. 

Paul's statement in Rom. 6:4, "Therefore we are 
buried with Him by baptism into death," is explained 
by Dr. Thayer in his Lex., as meaning "BURIED 
WITH CHRIST IN THE SAME GRAVE." There 
is no possible room in a rock tomb for any but Christ. 
It is not expansive and may be destroyed. A grave in 
water can never be destroyed, and it is expansive 



142 BAPTISM. 

enough to receive all the world in it with Christ. Not 
even a child need to stagger over this statement. 

Rev. Dr. B. A. Venable summed up the situation 
about baptism in these words: "As scholars, immer- 
sionists; as churchmen, effusionists. Honest scholar- 
ship, dishonest discipleship. ,, 

"Be baptized" means to be dipped, buried, immersed, 
overwhelmed. Greek lexicons so define it. There 
is no other word in the Bible so well defined and whose 
meaning so much sought as this one. All religious peo- 
ple agree that one who has been immersed has been 
baptized. The facts and circumstances connected with 
obedience to this command in the Bible show that it 
means immersion, land to accept Baptist's immersion is 
equivalent to annulling sprinkling . 

"But the world is not agreed that baptism is immer- 
sion. " Oh, how inconsistent we be ! 

The meaning of Baptidzo in ancient history is never 
questioned as to the act. It there means to sink — to 
sink down — to be overwhelmed — to-be drowned — to 
be immersed. It is only when found in God's use of 
it in His Book that men claim to be uncertain as to 
its meaning! ! ! 

The idea that a God who is infinite in wisdom can't 
find plain words in which to teach men their duty to 
Him is preposterous. 

Much water is necessary in order to baptize (John 
3 123) ; those who were baptized "went out" and 
"came" to the water (Matt. 3 :5 ; John 3 123) ; they went 
down into the water (Acts 8:38). Going to the water 
and going down into it were necessary to baptism. 
Baptism was performed in the water (Matt. 3 :6; Mark 



THE COMPLEMENT OF THE MIND. 143 

1 15-9; Acts 8:38) ; hence Saul of Tarsus must "arise,'* 
in order to be baptized (Acts 22:16), and the jailer 
and his household left the house to be baptized, and 
when they had been baptized, they went back up into 
his house (Acts 16:34, R. V.). Baptism is a burial 
(Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12) ; so when the people were bap- 
tized "in the river Jordan," they were immersed. 

"John buried Jesus" and "Philip buried the eunuch." 
In baptism the body is washed; hence it is a washing. 
(Heb. 10:22; Titus 3:5; I. Peter 3:21). After people 
are baptized they necessarily come "up out of the 
water" (Mark 1 :io ; Acts 8 :39), and go away from the 
water (Matt. 3:16, R. V.; Acts 8:39). In obeying 
God we should always do that about which there can be 
no question of doubt." — Advanced S. S. Quarterly. 

Baptism itself is not the good conscience. It only 
serves to give the answer of a good conscience. 

In a word, baptism is the "Requirement" — the com- 
plement of the mind as an answer to God. 

At a depot about fifty people were waiting for the 
arrival of a belated train. Among them was a Pre- 
siding Elder of the Methodist Episcopal Church, one 
of his circuit riders and a Baptist preacher. The lat- 
ter two were discussing a tract on baptism, a part of 
which is related in the following colloquy: "Why is 
it that Baptists are so 

Uoisy About Baptism? 

Water! water! much water! going down into water! 
coming <up out of water ! is their constant cry." His 
Elder smiled approvingly upon him and looked at the 



144 BAPTISM. 

Baptist preacher as if to say, "you are in it and will 
soon wish your were out." 

Perhaps you may be wrong as to Baptists being 
"noisy about baptism." We take a man "down into 
the water" and baptize him according to the Scripture 
model and lead him up out of the water, and send him 
on his way rejoicing after the New Testament practice. 
We do this in the same manner that John baptized 
Jesus, and that we may give "The answer of a good 
conscience." This puts all the Church, all the world, 
the preacher and the baptized man at perfect ease as 
to his baptism. And, sir, Baptists are mot saying any- 
thing about it. It gives distress to the man who was 
sprinkled as a substitute, and he becomes "noisy about 
his substituted sprinkling." 

Now, sir, let us take the statement of Matthew and 
Mark and blend them into one statement, and then we 
will have a complete statement as to baptism. 

There are two things I want to say of the narrative. 
First: There was a going out to the water; a going 
down in the water ; a coming up out of water ; a going 
azvay from water. 

Second: At this place the Father, Son and Holy 
Ghost met in common to ratify and to establish the act 
of baptism forever among men in the world. And 
there is no record of a common meeting on earthy be- 
fore nor since that day for any other purpose. 

"I can not accept your argument, because baptism 
came in lieu of circumcision and actually displaced it. 
There is not a thing in circumcision that would remind 
me of a burial, as you picture it in baptism, and the 



SYMBOLISM OF BAPTISM. 145 

substitute must not show more than was shown in the 
thing displaced." 

If that is so, sir, all your boy children must have cir- 
cumcision to have it displaced by baptism. I very much 
wonder then, why girl babies or women are ever bap- 
tized ! Your argument fails for want of proof, because 
Timothy and Titus were circumcised after they were 
baptized. Your argument and the New Testament 
turn against you. 

We must symbolize some fact in baptism. What is 
it? Take the symbolic emblem out of baptism and 
there is absolutely nothing left worth picking up. Bap- 
tism is administered in the name of Father, Son and 
Holy Ghost. The Father and Holy Ghost must be in 
the formula, because they were in the baptism of Jesus. 
The Father nor the Holy Ghost never died; the Son 
died, and was buried. Our baptism must set that out. 
It must also set out the resurrection from the dead as 
truly as it sets out death and burial of the dead. 

"But, IS NOT BAPTISM A DOOR INTO THE 
CHURCH? Does not every creed published make it 
essential to church membership, and to obedience, and 
to salvation? Don't Baptist confessions teach that in 
common with all other creeds ?" 

I do not know of a single printed statement to that 
effect coming from any Baptist. Baptists are the only 
people that reject baptism as a procuring cause of 
salvation. Jesus said, a I am the door; by Me, if any 
man enter in he shall be saved, and shall go in and out 
and find pasture." The saving is to enter in through 
Christ "the door/' who is "the way, truth and the 
life." 



I46 BAPTISM. 

It is not through baptism to salvation, but through 
salvation to baptism. 

"What then, is the process of becoming a member of 
a Baptist church ? How do you take them in as mem- 
bers if you do not baptize them in ?" 
Full Fellowship. 

A. presents himself for membership to a church, 
giving a satisfactory cause justifying his application. 
A motion to accept him, after his baptism, into the full 
fellowship of the church is carried by the vote of the 
whole church. The vote stands. It makes him a mem- 
ber on that agreement. The pastor immerses him, 
and after that the right hand of fellowship takes him 
into the church. This ratifies the vote of the body in 
council, and makes him a full member. 

It is the vote of the church, ratified by the right 
hand of fellowship that makes members. 

I will now read you a paragaph in the "Argus" 
it is self explanatory : 
Is Baptism a Door? 

T. P. Edwards, Wagersville, Ky. : "Is baptism a 
door into the church? If not, how is it essential to 
church membership ?" 

"The inclination which prompts the fixing upon some 
overt act as a procuring cause is a tendency to eccle- 
siasticism, to Catholicism and Discipleism. Mr. Camp- 
bell and the Pope make baptism a door, but Christ 
never did. A man should be redeemed, be in the spirit- 
ual kingdom or spiritual church before he is baptized ; 
say the Scriptures ard Baptists. No, brother, baptism 
is not a door, but only baptism (immersion), an act 



VALUE OF BAPTISM. 147 

imperative to the understanding, redeemed man, and 
its purpose is to symbolize the redeemed man's death 
with Christ to sin and his resurrection with Christ to 
life everlasting. 

Baptism is essential to church membership because it 
is one of the things Christ commanded of all who would 
follow Him. Understanding Baptists drop the overt 
act as a procuring cause as they would the vipers of 
Egypt. 

"Is there any physical, personal or spiritual benefit 
derived from baptism ?" Christ said : "I have given 
ye an example; happy are ye if ye know these things 
and do them." Now, returning to His baptism as one 
of the many examples, what do we find? Christ was 
not anointed by the Spirit until He rose out of the 
water and stood praying. Will we? He was not 
owned among men from birth as God's Son until after 
the Spirit anointed Him. iWill we? He entered into 
the state of "anointed," "Sonship," by baptism. Will 
we? He said our happiness depends on "doing His 
example!" Will it? 

Once I heard a man deny that "immersion is Scrip- 
tural baptism." Next day a man from a Baptist church 
was taken by him into his church membership! An- 
other man joined who demanded immersion! That 
preacher immersed him notwithstanding his denial of 
immersion as baptism. I felt some desire to know 
what was the relation between himself and his sprink- 
led members, and his two immersed members, and 
asked him. "If immersion is not baptism, what is it?" 
If immersion is not baptism, why did you immerse? 



I48 BAPTISM. 

Why take an immersed man into your church without 
sprinkling him?" He did not answer. 

There is an old rule by which to test the meaning of 
the word "baptism." It is this: Take pour, sprinkle, 
immerse as test words; in Mark 10:38, Jesus asked 
John and Tames, "Are ye able to be baptized with the 
baptism I am baptized with," etc. Now displace "bap- 
tized" out of that statement and try "pour" in its place ; 
then try sprinkle; then try immerse, and try it that 
way on the word wherever it occurs. The one which 
makes good isense all the time can be used safely all the 
time as the right word to use. 

John's baptism was in the order of Son, Spirit and 
Father. The Church has never received any other 
baptism from Heaven or of Christ ; she knows no other 
but Johns baptism. Surely no sane man would claim 
that changing the order of the three names, as in 
John's baptism, to the order in the commission 
changed the act of baptism. If it did, we want a "Thus 
saith the Lord" for it. 

None but church authority makes baptism valid. 

"How about Philip and the eunuch?" Philip was 
all right and so was the eunuch. It was a special case 
under the immediate vocal direction of the Spirit, 
down to the minutest detail. If there was another 
traveler in the same conditions that surrounded the 
eunuch, who was journeying 1200 miles away from 
where he could hear the gospel again ; and if an angel 
should appear to a preacher and tell him to go to a 
certain place as Philip was told; and if, on that plat 
of land the Holy Spirit should say "Join thyself to this 



THE EUNUCH. 149 

man in the chariot," any preacher in the land would 
obey the Spirit, and join himself unto that man in bap- 
tism, when he asked for it. I don't think there is a 
church of Christ anywhere that would reject a baptism 
administered in that way. The Eunuch's case was spe- 
cial; nothing else in all the ages like it. God did not 
override His Church in this case. An angel called Philip 
out of his work in Samaria and told him where to go. 
On his arrival, the Spirit told Philip what to do, and the 
church at Samaria, by releasing Philip for a mission, 
did in fact, the baptism. In all this, God kept His law 
unbroken; the Church did the work; the convert was 
baptized, and its like will never be matched again. 

Infants Are Baptized to Save Them. 

Quotations from prayer books, and a conversation 
with a cultured lady of the Episcopal faith, show the 
caption to be true. I was a guest in that lady's home 
for the night. Contrary to my pleasure, she directed 
the conversation to baptism; from that to baptism of 
infants and infant church membership. After being 
alone for the night, as nearly as I could recall it, I 
wrote the conversation which was substantially as 
given below. She said in part : 

"Episcopalians baptize their infants when old enough 
to be baptized, and we bring them up in the church. 
It is certainly the right way to do ; it looks so nice. But 
when I go over to the Baptist church I see more than 
twenty little children not baptized; not in the church, 
and they are just nothing! It makes me so sorry to 
see the little creatures neglected in that way. I want 
to take them over to our church, have them baptized 
and make something of them!" 



I50 BAPTISM. 

"Sister, why not wait until they can hear, repent, 
believe and be baptized on personal, oral confession of 
faith in Christ? Why break the model given us at 
the Jordan under John's exactions, who knew how it 
ought to be?" I asked. 

"Oh, bring them in, bring them in, and let them con- 
fess at their confirmation, when fourteen years old," 
she said, and her earnest looks said it more completely 
than did her words. "Raise them up in the church and 
let them grow up as Christians !" 

"The people at the Jordan were baptized immediately 
after belief and confession. The same is true of the 
eunuch, Paul, Cornelius, the Philippian jailer and the 
3000. We ought to be careful not to break the Scrip- 
ture models. If we begin it, we can not tell whither it 
will leiad. I suppose you will look upon baptism as a 
means of grace, that brings salvation unto the bap- 
tized?" 

"Yes, and it is full of comfort to the mind," she 
said. 

"If your prayer book is handy, I wish you would read 
to me the formula of baptism. I suppose you are 
familiar with it and can turn to the subject." 

"Oh, yes; I can do that. I will read to you from 
page 245 : 'Dearly beloved, for as much as all men are 
conceived and born in sin, and our Savior, Christ, saith 
none can enter the Kingdom of Heaven unless He be 
regenerated and born anew of water and the Holy 
Spirit, I beseech you to call upon God the Father, 
through our Lord Jesus Christ, that of His bounteous 
mercy He will grant to this child that which by nature 



BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 15 X 

he can not have; that he may be baptized with water 
and the Holy Ghost and be received into Christ's Holy 
Church. N. I baptize thee . . . We receive this 
child into the congregation of Christ's flock, and do 
sign him the sign of the cross. Seeing now, dearly be- 
loved brethren, that this child is regenerate and grafted 
into the body of Christ's Church, let us give thanks 
unto Almighty God for these benefits.' " 

The twenty-seventh article s^ys : "Baptism is a sign 
of profession * * it is also a sign of regeneration 
or new birth, whereby as by an instrument they that re- 
ceive baptism rightly are grafted into the church. The 
promises of the forgiveness of sin and of our adoption 
to be the Sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly 
signed and sealed. 

And, Mr. Mann, in our children's catechism, they 
are taught to say this : "In baptism I was made a mem- 
ber of Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor of the 
Kingdom of Heaven." Our ritual further says: "In- 
fants are conceived and born in sin and can not enter 
the Kingdom of God unless they are born anew of 
water and of the Holy Ghost." 

"John Henry Blount, an eminent Divine of the 
Church of England wrote an 'Exposition of Articles 
and Prayer B'ook,' " said that lady's daughter, "And 
I will read for your instruction," she said, "what Mr. 
Blount said in his Exposition on baptism, if you would 
care to hear him," she continued. 

Read it by all means, as we are investigating the 
subject of baptism, I said in reply. 

"Well, here it is: 'In the institutions of a Christian 



152 BAPTISM. 

man, the Church of England declares that inasmuch 
as infants and children, dying in their infancy, shall 
undoubtedly be saved thereby (that is, by baptism), 
else not/ In the last revision of the Prayer Book, we 
read : 'It is certain, by God's Word, that children which 
are baptized before they commit actual sin are undoubt- 
edly saved. In other words we are certain of the fu- 
ture happiness of the baptized, but we have no as- 
surance of the salvation of the unbaptized infant. The 
question must thus be left in obscurity, as we have 
no sufficient warrant to go beyond the cautious state- 
ment of our church.' " "This satisfies all good Episco- 
palians, and we think it ought to be satisfactory to 
everybody," was the modest comment of the daughter. 
"And yet, my good sister, the same Eminent Ex- 
positor closed with the statement that this was a 
'Cautious statement of your Church/ There is no al- 
lusion to it in the Holy Scriptures, that for it the church 
pleads no Divine Command. He thus makes the 
writers of His church greater in authority over Episco- 
pal members than is the authority of the Bible! In 
other words, that statement means that the Episcopal 
church claims to have authority to write laws greater 
in authority than what is written in our Bible. If that 
is so, why should Episcopalians want a Bible? Do 
not Catholics do the same thing? Baptists strive to 
have a 'thus saith the Lord' as their sufficient authority. 

YOU WANT A 'THUS SAITH THE CHURCH !' M 

"Sister, the Bible's comment on that formula and 
declaration is quite severe. Christ came to be a Prince 
and a Savior, and He shall save His people from their 
sins. Baptism, under that formula, robs Christ of His 



ESSENTIALS. 153 

office as Savior, for by it you save the child in baptism. 
Again, it is said: 'There is none other name given 
under Heaven among men whereby we can be saved/ 
We can have but one Savior ; that is Christ. There is 
this difference between Baptists and all who baptize in 
order to save :" 

They believe in Christ, but trust in baptism for sal- 
vation. 

Baptists believe in baptism, but trust to Christ for 
salvation. 

Baptists teach that salvation must precede baptism — 
that the soul comes to Baptism through Christ. 

Paedo-Baptists teach that baptism precedes salva- 
tion and that a soul comes to Christ through baptism. 
That is a wide world of difference. 

She arose to her feet and stood in deep, quiet 
thought for a few moments, and then said : "Well, the 
Baptists must be right in some things. I wish you a 
good night's rest and pleasant dreams/' Then she and 
her two stately daughters withdrew from the room. 



PRESBYTERIAN CONFESSION OF FAITH— 

Chapter 28. 

"Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament or- 
dained by Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn admis- 
sion of the party baptized into the visible church, but 
also unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, 
of his ingrafting into Christ, of regeneration, of re- 
mission of sins, of his growing up unto God, through 
Jesus Christ, to walk in newness of life. 



154 BAPTISM. 

2. "The outward element to be used in this sacra- 
ment is water. 

3. "Dipping of the person into water is not necessary 
but baptism is rightly administered by pouring or 
sprinkling water upon the person." 

The Augsburg Lutheran Confession (1530), Art. 9, 
says: "Baptism is necessary to salvation; by (it) the 
grace of God is offered; and children are to be bap- 
tized, who by baptism are received into God's favor." 

The same Article condemns the "Anabaptist" for 
teaching that children may be saved without baptism : 
"pueros sine baptismo salvos fieri." 

Methodist Discipline. 

The Methodists (North and South) have a disci- 
pline which is "practically identical on the subject of 
baptism," and their formula in baptism have a similar 
form and doctrine of the Episcopal "Prayer Book." 
Infant baptism, church membership and baptismal sal- 
vation are clearly defined in all. I have made sure 
of it by reading them. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church has substantially 
the same ritual for the administration of baptism as 
that found in the Episcopal prayer book. Their ritual 
reads thus: 

"For as much as all men are conceived and born in 
sin, and our Savior, Christ, saith : 'None can enter into 
the Kingdom of God except he be regenerate and born 
anew of water and of the Holy Ghost/ I beseech you 
to call upon God," etc. 

It is our object to present the views of the leading 
denominations on baptism, that when our people look 



BAPTISMAL SALVATION. 1 55 

for baptism in the New Testament, they may be able to 
intelligently compare what men have said, with what 
God has said. In Wesley's Notes on the New Testa- 
ment on John 3 15 he says that "Baptism is a means of 
the birth." In Acts 22:16 he said, "Baptism is both a 
means and a seal of pardon." In his sermon on "New 
Birth," he said: Infants are born again in the act of 
baptism." 

Mr. Wesley on Baptism. 

Mr. Wesley said some things which his followers are 
trying to hide and forget. For example, one of the 
numerous Christian Advocates has been asked this 
question: "Does Wesley anywhere say that baptism 
cleanses the child from original sin?" The editor's an- 
swer is : "As far as we know he does not." Evidently 
the editor has never read or failed to remember Mr. 
Wesley's treatise on baptism found in that standard 
Methodist volume, "Doctrinal Tracts." The Discipline 
requires that Methodist preachers shall study Wesley's 
doctrinal standards and sermons, also his "Notes on 
the New Testament" during the first three years of 
their conference connections. 

In our edition (1850) of the "Doctrinal Tracts" 
special attention Fs called to Mr. Wesley's "Short 
Treatise on Baptism." Turning to that treatise I find 
it quite interesting reading. Let me quote a few sen- 
tences : "It is true we read of being buried with Christ 
in baptism, but nothing can be inferred from such a 
figurative expression." Nevertheless, in his "Notes on 
the New Testament," on Rom. 6:4, Mr. Wesley said: 



I56 BAPTISM. 

that that same expression refers to immersion ! As to 
the "benefits we receive by baptism" the treatise main- 
tains that the "first of these is the washing away of 
original sin" — "the merits of Christ's life and death 
are applied to us in baptism." Again : "Baptism is 
the ordinary instrument of our justification." Under 
this head, Mr. Wesley quotes approvingly what "the 
rubric" says : "It is certain by God's Word that children 
who are baptized, dying before they commit actual sin, 
are saved." He also favorably urges: "Agreeably to 
this our church prays in the baptismal office that the 
person to be baptized may be washed and sanctified by 
the Holy Ghost, and, being delivered from God's 
wrath, receive the remission of sins, and enjoy the ever- 
lasting benediction of his Heavenly washing." 

Once more I quote : "By baptism we enter into cove- 
nant with God." "By baptism we who were by nature 
children of wrath are made children of God. And this 
regeneration, which our church in so many places as- 
cribes to baptism, is more than barely being admitted 
into the church." "By water then, as a means, the 
water of baptism, we are regenerated, or born again." 
Mr. Wesley adds right here : "Nor does she ascribe it 
to the outward washing, but to the inward grace, which 
added thereto, makes it a sacrament. Herein a princi- 
ple of grace is infused which will not be wholly taken 
away unless we quench the Holy Spirit of God by long 
continued wickedness." 

It should be noted that the Methodist editor of the 
Tracts, in a note, says that "Mr. Wesley, as a clergy- 
man of the Church of England, was originally a high- 
churchman. When he wrote this treatise in the year 






WESLEY ON BAPTISM. 157 

1756, he seems still to have used some expressions iti 
relation to the doctrine of baptismal regeneration 
which we at this day should not prefer." Exactly, but 
it must also be stated in fairness that Mr. Wesley never 
retracted any of those expressions, and in his printed 
sermons he insists just as strongly upon baptismal re- 
generation. These sermons were written during the 
height of his work as a "Methodist." — Baptist and 
Reflector. 

A Serious Error. 

To the writer a serious error appears in "baptizing 
infants and bringing them up in the church/' consist- 
ing of eight things : 

1st. Moses and Christ make "hearing" paramount in 
acts of obedience and service to God. Deut. 4:10; 6:3- 
4; Mark 12:29. If this duty is denied to little children 
or infants by baptizing them, it takes away their per- 
sonal obedience to God in baptism. 

2d. "Repentance towards God and faith in the Lord 
Jesus Christ" comes next to believing. These are im- 
possible acts for infants. 

3d. Hearing, believing, repenting, confessing must 
all be placed before baptism to make the order scrip- 
tural. This is denied to infants. 

4th. An oral "confession by the mouth'' must pre- 
cede baptism, which is denied infants. 

5th. Baptism disunites infants from these require- 
ments and denies to them believers' baptism later. 

6th. A line in those churches cuts them off from the 
Lord's table, a place which all baptized people have a 
right to approach and show their faith in our Lord and 
Savior, hence, a restricted communion agiainst their 
rriembers is the result. 



I58 BAPTISM. 

7. Eating the Supper is witnessing for Christ, which 
infants are not allowed to do though they are baptized 
members. 

8. The Supper is a prophet foretelling the coming of 
Christ to earth, and "little children" are denied a right 
to prophesy. "So oft as ye eat this bread and drink this 
cup ye do show forth the Lord's death till He come 
again." 



Acts 2 138. This is often urged upon me as a proof 
of baptismal salvation and spoken of confidently as 
such. The Holy Spirit, we are told, was not promised 
only on condition of baptism. Advocates of that faith 
were never more wide of the mark in the assertion. It 
was not the Spirit that was promised ; it was the "gift' 
of the Spirit that Peter promised. The "gift" was the 
power to perform miracles by the Spirit. 

The part of that verse stressed reads thus : "Repent 
and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus 
Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive 
the gift of the Holy Ghost." It seems to be a very 
clear question in that sentence that the final end to 
attain by "repentance and baptism" was to get the gift 
of the Spirit. Even if it be admitted that it was in 
order to receive the Holy Spirit, we could not work un- 
der the order of the Gospel as it was preached to the 
Jew$. We would have to become Jews before it would 
apply. That order was changed for and unto the Gen- 
tiles in giving them the Gospel as is witnessed in the 
case of Cornelius. A certain qualification must possess 
the Gentile, before baptism, if his baptism is legal and 
scriptural. That was not required of Jesus before 



GIFT OF THE SPIRIT. 1 59 

Peter preached the Gospel to Gentiles at Cornelius* 
houset Deter 1 Inade the statement clear in that 
verse. The gift of the Spirit was to perform 
miracles, a power in the hands of the Apostles, and 
was bestowed by them on those who were baptized by 
the laying on of Apostles' hands after Pentecost. The 
Apostles laid hands on only those who were baptized 
for the purpose of transmitting the gift. None but 
apostles performed miracles after Pentecost until the 
Apostles laid their hands on them who were baptized. 
There was a difference of some sort'in the preaching 
of the Gospel to the Jews and Gentiles. "Peter was 
sent to preach the Gospel to the circumcised. " — Gal. 
2 \J. Peter held the keys of the Gospel to the Gentiles, 
and no sermon was preached to the Gentiles as such 
until Peter went down to the house of Cornelius. 
There the order for all time to come for Gentiles was 
opened up by giving them the Holy Ghost before bap- 
tism. Thereupon Peter unlocked the Gospel door to 
the Gentiles upon the receipt, but not the gift, of the 
Spirit before baptism. It is not on record in the New 
Testament that any Gentile ever exercised the "gift" 
of the Holy Ghost in performing miracles. It was 
never the pleasure of a Gentile to exercise that office. 
Simon tried to buy it, with the saddest of results !* 

* John promised that all who heard him preach should 
have a baptism of the Holy Ghost, or with fire. Those who 
believed and accepted a water baptism should have a baptism 
of the Holy Ghost in this life when Jesus came. Those who 
heard and refused a baptism of water in this life should get a 
baptism of fire in hell. So John's preaching was elementary 
and fundamental doctrines of the New Tetsament. 

The human side of the son of Mary came to John, 
demanding baptism of him, as an "example" to all who 



l6o BAPTISM. 

would have Sonship with God. It was the human side, 
showing what would make us worthy to fulfill all right- 
eousness. His outer man had Jesus Christ the anointed 
Savior within. That was the "example," and His ex- 
ample requires that no one is a proper subject of bap- 
tism who has not the "Anointed Savior" in the inner 
man. The Holy Spirit had been enjoyed by Samuel, 
Saul, David and all the prophets without water baptism, 
and wlhat sane man would question their salvation? 

If it be true that Christ came to be "a Prince and a 
Savior," is it not robbery to Him to trust in the per- 
formance of one, or of all the duties as a Savior? 
There can be but one plan of salvation. If we could 
find that doing duty would save, then there a!ire 
numberless Saviors ! Paul tells us of "a cloud of 
witnesses who died in the faith, before baptism or a 
church was given to the world ;" and they were saved 
by that one plan, which began at the first Adam and 
will continue until the last Adam arrives. All men 
if saved, must be saved by that one plan. It began with 
Abel, and continued to Enoch and Abraham, and to 
such a multitude that "time would fail" Paul to tell 
their names. John, in his Revelation, could find no 
man "able to number the saved." 

If baptism is a means of salvation, ought not the 
churches to marshal their forces and go out like Ma- 
homet, forcing on pain of death, baptism on the world ? 
Mahomet was consistent to his faith. It was the only 
logical thing for him to do, to propagate his religion* 
If baptism brings salvation, would it be a logical thing 
for a church to do as did Mahomet ? 

These questions are introduced to help widen our 



SEEKING LIGHT. l6l 

view about baptism, and to keep us out of hurtful er- 
rors about it. It is a personal, willing obedience to 
baptism called for by the Christ. I want no more; I 
will take no less. 

Types of Baptism. 

What man has not had the anxious light-seeker in his 
congregation — people wanting the "Marvelous light 
and liberty of the Gospel" to shine in upon their souls ? 
How many in the world are stumbling over questions 
that keep them away from their Savior? — questions to 
no profit, such as : who was Cain's wife, and who was 
Melchizedek ? May these lines run home to some un- 
decided souls, and bring them quickly to Christ ! What- 
ever is foreshadowed in the Old Testament shines so 
brightly in the fact, it lights up the New. God, in His 
goodness, gave the prophets some bright glimpses of 
the Church! in these, our glorious days. David 
and Isaiah had more beatific scenes of "The 
Glorious Lord" and His Church before their spirit 
eyes than all others in the days of the prophets. David 
was baptized with the Holy Ghost, and saw his simi- 
larity to a man baptized in wlater and in the joy of his 
soul he cried out : "I am like a green olive tree in the 
house of God." Psa. 52 :8. Zechariah's writing is 
more about Israel, as the Church, than of Israel, the 
seed of Abraham. The most unbounded delight is 
thrown into his words, as he talks with an angel. 
"What seest thou? and I said I have looked, and be- 
hold ! a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the 
top of it, and has seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes 



1 62 BAPTISM. 

to the seven lamps are upon the top thereof ; and two 
olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, 
and the other upon the left side thereof/' 

He saw the richness of the Church under semblance 
of a golden candlestick. The two olive trees were fig- 
ures of our two ordinances — one for Baptism on the 
"right side" — outside; and one for the Supper on the 
"left side" — inside. Literally, the Church standing 
with right hand outstretched to receive and welcome 
in, by baptism, into full fellowship at the Lord's table. 
— Zech. 4: 1-3. 

All these show the amount of outside preparation be- 
fore one can properly enter upon an inside duty. The 
separation, sanctification and purifying is to be at- 
tended to before entering. John looked on at same of 
that mysterious glory, and said : "And the seven can- 
dlesticks which thou sawest were the seven churches." 
— Rev. 1 :20. "And I will give power unto my two wit- 
nesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand, two hum 
dred and three-score days, clothed in sackcloth and 
ashes. These are the two olive trees, and the two can- 
dlesticks standing before the God of earth." — Rev. 

n:3-5 ; 

I give here a clipping from the Texas "Baptist 

Standard :" 

"Dear Brother : In answer to Sister Ballard's ques- 
tion, 'Who are the two witnesses found in Rev. 11:3?' 
Your answer is not satisfactory to me, as by common 
consent the world of to-day takes them to be either 
'Enoch and Elijah/ The Jewish and Christian church/ 
The Old and New Testaments/ or Two of the Apos- 
tles, sent out two and two/ etc. Now, let me ask, when 



TWO WITNESSES. 163 

did the world see either of these dead in the streets of 
the city, as described in that chapter? Never. Then 
they, or either of them, can not be the witnesses spoken 
of by John. Then, who are they? The answer is 
plain, it seems to me. They are Baptism and the Lord's 
Supper. You ask, have I any authority for my con- 
clusions ? I think so. You will note that there are two 
things connected with Christ's life and death essential 
to man's salvation. These are spoken of in Rom. 
4 125 : 'Who was delivered for our offenses, and was 
raised again for our justification"; i. e., Christ must 
die and rise again from the dead. If there was a fail- 
ure in either, then we fail of salvation. They did not 
fail. These points are required to be constantly kept 
before the public mind, and are so kept by baptism and 
the Supper, and John so presents them in I. John 5 :8 ; 
'There are three that bear witness in the earth — the 
Spirit and the water and the blood ; and these agree in 
one." Here we have three witnesses who testify — 
Spirit, water, blood. How? In the Gospel, baptism, 
bread and wine. Christ was fully made known in His 
baptism, and He conquered death by His blood. See 
I. John 5 :6. Christ 'came by water and by blood/ 
He left the baptism and the Supper as witnesses, and 
commanded their perpetual observance. In my bap- 
tism I declared my faith in Christ as the resurrection. 
In the Supper I testified of His death. This I can do 
( 1 ) by their spirit or design ; (2) by their form. What 
are they? I must be buried in baptism, believing in 
Christ with the heart that Christ is the Savior. In the 
Supper, I must eat and drink, discerning the Lord's 
broken body. The true meaning of tfie witnesses was 



164 BAPTISM. 

lost for hundreds of years. Their forms, though, were 
observed, in giving immersion to people to save them 
and by giving the Supper for the same purpose. Even 
now they are so used by the so-called Christian world. 
Where? Just where John saw them; 'in the streets of 
the great city/ which spiritually is called Sodom and 
Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified; i. e. (B ( aby- 
lon described in the Bible), where 'they of the people 
and kindred and tongues and nations shall see their 
dead bodies three days and a half, and shall not suffer 
their dead bodies to be put in graves, and they that 
dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them and make 
merry, and shall send gifts, one to another, because of 
these two prophets' (witnesses). Now, here is at 
least a good picture of Rome for 350 years before the 
Reformation, and it is still quite good to-day. Baptism 
is dead wihen given to a babe, and the Supper is quite 
as dead when given to express friendship, etc." 

My good brother, it seems to me that the picture John 
drew fairly and positively describes the ordinances of 
the Lord since the day the woman was driven into the 
wilderness for 1260 days, and will continue until she re- 
turns fully. The woman is the true church of Christ, 
and the witnesses are His, but dead, because their testi- 
mony is made false, being given for wrong purposes 
by the great city of Babylon. In these opinions I may 
be wrong, yet I fully believe they are scriptural.'' 

Baptism is also represented as "a tree planted by the 
rivers of water" (Psa. 1 :3;i7:i8;Jer.i7:8), and again 
"Set thee up way-marks; make thee high heaps; set 
thy heart towards the highway, even the way which 
thou wentest; turn again, Oh, Virgin of Israel, turn 



WAY MARKS. 165 

again to these thy cities/' spake Ezekiel. The ordi- 
nances are called way-marks and high heaps; the 
Church he calls a Highway. I will introduce one more 
of these similes, from Zechariah 6 17, in which the ordi- 
nances are seen as "crowns of silver and gold on the 
priest's head." 

These bold and beautiful figures seem to have run 
the prophets mad with delight. They invariably saw 
but one thing in their foreglimpse of baptism. To-day 
men seem to see immersion, pouring, sprinkling, trine 
immersion and immersion face downward as the fulfill- 
ment of prophets' visions. The visions were sublime 
to prophets ; but to-day men are mad and say, alas, that 
"immersion is ridiculous and indecent; a practice of 
shame that cultured ladies reject." Yet these self-same 
men will lead "cultured ladies" down into a "liquid 
tomb" rather than miss them from their fol I! Oh, 
Spirits of just men made perfect by obedienc/, where 
art thou? 

Lights of Baptism. 

On the mount the Savior said to the disciples as a 
unit, "Ye are the light of the world." Then, taking 
them separately, in these words : "Neither do men light 
a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, 
and it giveth light to all that are in the house"; and 
utters a command, "I^et your light so shine before men," 
etc., not allowing a light to be hidden in a cloister nor 
by walls of a convent, where lives are buried out of the 
world, where it will not cause men to turn and glorify 
our Father which is in Heaven. It is said : "The Lord 



1 66 BAPTISM. 

added to the Church daily the saved," thus showing 
that the saved man is in the Church; and, that "ye 
might be blameless and harmless, the Sons of God with- 
out rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse 
nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world." 
— Phil. 2:15. Something set them apart "as lights" — 
the servants of Christ. Who can say that it was not 
baptism? The church's relation to the world is three- 
fold. Christ said to the Church : "Ye are the light of 
the world;" "A city that is set on an hill can not be 
hid," thus working out Isaiah's definition of a church 
(62:12) ; and as a preserver the Lord's people shall 
bear a part (Psa. 25 125 ; Isa. 49:8). Again, Jesus said: 
"Ye are the salt of the earth." Salt is a preserver, but 
it will not preserve the flesh of a live animal. It must 
be slaughtered first, and then salted, in order to pre- 
serve it. The animal was not in a state of decay when 
living, nor when slaughtered. Slaughtering preserved 
the live animal — salting preserved the slaughtered. 
Preaching the Gospel slaughters the sinner — baptism 
preserves him. Read Gen. 32 -.30 ; 45 \j ; Deut. 6 124 ; 
Job 29:2; Psa. 25:21; 36:6; Isa. 49:8; Luke 17:33. 

The Effect of Baptism. 

We have looked at preaching, hearing, belief, repent- 
ance and faith as moving causes which impelled us to 
accept baptism, and now its effect, or the relation it puts 
us in with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, claims an 
examination. "The like figure whereunto baptism doth 
also now save." (L Peter 3 :2i) showing that our bap- 
tism is not a fact but a "figure" of salvation. But lest 



BAPTISM A COMPLEMENT. 167 

we might risk our salvation in baptism, Peter moved 
forward so smoothly with the completion of the idea, 
and said, "It is not the putting away of the filth of the 
flesh, but the answer of a good conscience towards 
God."* Keep in mind that figures only represent value, 

* The margin says baptism is a complement of the mind. 
That must mean the mind of the one baptized towards the bap- 
tizer and of the church into which he is adjusted by his bap- 
tism. Every member's mind must be complemented or ad- 
justed to every member in their fold by the act in the bap- 
tism of each member of that body for them to be in full 
fellowship with each other. 

number of quantity abstractly, without having value, 
or being the number or quantity itself, only a represen- 
tation. Baptism is a figure. "The answer of a good 
conscience towards God." "The complement of the 
mind/' R. V. 

The Lord had John write several years later to say : 
"The Blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, deanseth us from 
all sin ;" and from Raul we have another note on that 
thought : "Without the shedding of blood there is no 
remission." All the Jewish sacrifices point to the same 
end — no blood, no redemption, no reconciliation, no re- 
mission of sin. 

Eph. 1 7; I. Peter i :i8-i9; Rev. 1 15, 6, 14. 

Every idea of water salvation must give way before 
such testimony. Paul, what have you to say about a 
baptized believer? 

"Why, sir, I have this to say : We are dead, and our 
lives are hid with Christ in God." 

But how hid Paul? 

"Why know ye not that so many of us as were bap- 
tized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death ?" 



l68 ; BAPTISM. 

"That is how you are hid — baptized out of sight and 
hid." 

Well, Paul, how baptized? What effect does it pro- 
duce ? Does it really kill us ? 

"Oh, no ! Not in a physical sense does it kill. We 
are dead before baptism and must be buried into death 
with Christ and raised from the dead and buried state 
to walk in a newness of life 'by the glory of the 
Father/ Our baptism is a planting together with Christ 
only in the likeness of His death and the likeness of 
His resurrection, also. It stands a witness of the 
death, and resurrection of Christ." 

"O, Paul, how thou hast led us on and strengthened 
us with thy clear, plain instruction; for now we know 
we can not be in the dark with the radiance of this light 
shining over that beautiful emblem ! It is so rapturous 
to know that we are no longer of the world — buried out 
of it. While we remain left in the world, we are a like- 
ness, a picture of Christ's death!" — Baptized!! a glo- 
rious state ! ! ! 

"Yes, all burials in baptisms will remain fadeless pic- 
tures in memory after this, when we see people buried 
in Jesus. It is surely a witness to rebuke sinners and 
to give the answer of 1a good conscience." 

"Yes, my children, for as many as have been bap- 
tized into Christ, have put on Christ," said Paul, as he 
waved us adieu. Gal. 3 127. 

Our baptism puts us in twelve states or relations to 
God, viz. : dead, planted, buried, resurrected, preserved, 
blood-cleansed, new-life, hidden, picture-likeness, wit- 
ness and prophet. 



PREPARED. 169 

Two Things in Life. 

Our appearance at the judgment will avail nothing 
good for us with life partly filled. God has given us 
one choice: obedience to what He has said; not to a 
man-made faith ; not to what some one may want it to 
be. God, the Omnipotent, made the right yoke and 
calls our necks under it. 

God made his laws without the consent of man. They 
are His property, and men have no more right to take 
such of them as stand in their path, wrap them up, 
label them "Non-essential," and lay them away than 
they have to take a man's property and destroy it. If 
any should take the law, "One Lord, one faith, one bap- 
tism," and so transform it as to read, "One Lord, one 
faith and one baptism which baptism is sprinkling, pour- 
ing or immersing," has he not tampered with God's 
law so as to destroy its evident meaning. Spurgeon 
says: "No man objects to pouring or sprinkling water 
upon a man or child as a ceremony in naming or offer- 
ing one to God, but it becomes an offense to say that 
such is commanded for baptism to a believer in Jesus. 

Preparation. 

The first thing is preparatory and consists of "Hear- 
ing," "Repentance" and "Faith." I have given suffi- 
cient notice to the importance of "hearing." Repentance 
is one of the foundation timbers, and there can be no 
Christian life without it. A ship can be built as well 
without a keel as a Christian life can without repent- 
ance. Pulpits are not emphasizing it as they ought. 



I70 BAPTISM, 

"The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son 
of God; as it is written in the prophets (Mark 1:1-2) ; 
and the first record made of the preaching in that be- 
ginning is : "Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is 
at hand." That sentence charges man with guilt be- 
fore God. It is a "branding iron" in God's Word 
against every soul. It is the keynote of the Gospel as 
opened by John the Baptist, by Christ, by Peter and 
by Paul. "Repent ye and believe the Gospel," was in 
the Savior's first sentence, and was often repeated by 
Him. It was the leading thought of the closing elo- 
quence of Peter's sermon at Pentecost. Paul made a 
masterly defense of repentance to the Corinthian 
Church, showing that it must work a "godly sorrow 
unto salvation that needeth not to be repented of." 
II. Cor. 7:10. It can be ignored only at a fearful cost 
to the impenitent. 

Faith is another elementary foundation principle on 
which a Christian life must stand. "Without faith it is 
impossible to please God." "Whatsoever is not of faith 
is sin." If all man's days were applied in a treatise on 
faith, it would not be made more clear than that de- 
liverance of Paul. Repentance is the measure of our 
faith, the yardstick of our opportunities. 

Closing up of Preparations. 

The second stage consists of Belief, Confession, 
Baptism and Sealing. This is first in intelligent 
obedience and is secondary as to the finishing of a per- 
fectly rounded out Christian. I have treated confes- 
sion. We have seen that repentance and faith are in- 



CLOSING UP. 171 

separable links in the chain of salvation, and when one 
works both must serve. Mark's 'commission contains 
two acts of obedience coupled up for a believer. "He 
that believeth and is baptized'' This is God's order 
down to the end of the world. He shows that 
baptism is the proof of belief because it finishes the 
thought, so the idea is in two parts. Belief is one, bap- 
tism is the other. Any man elected "must give bond 
and take oath of office" before he can serve. Giving 
bond — our confession of Christ; sworn in — our bap- 
tism. Not the election alone, but qualifying after, lets 
us serve in office. 

Do you want the "sealing of the Holy Spirit ?" Do 
you want God the Father to own you as His Son? 
These two states were given Christ immediately after 
his baptism. Is there any other way for you ? Christ 
"gave <us an example to go by." Dare we to break it 
and say some other way is just as good? If so, why 
then did Christ come at all? 

The Effect of Baptism. 

1st. It puts us into the unity of faith. 2d. It makes 
us of "one accord." 3d. It gives the answer of a good 
conscience. 4th. It puts us into Christ. 5th. It puts 
Christ upon us. 6th. It brings the Spirit's sealing. 
7th. It makes us sons of God. 8th. By it we establish 
the law of baptism. 9th. It makes us happy — "Happy 
are ye if ye know and do them." 10th. It will send 
us on our way rejoicing, as it did the eunuch, nth. It 
puts us in the figure of salvation. 12th. It puts us in 
the picture of Christ's death, burial and resurrection. 



172 BAPTISM. 

None of these twelve states or benefits are promised 
in God's Book, only on a willing personal obedience in 
"doing the doctrines." Tones of defiance, contempt, 
and sometimes of earnest inquiry, ask: "Can I get to 
Heaven without baptism? Is it essential to salvation? 
±.-j aunt, my grandmother, my mother, etc., were the 
very best people / ever knew\ They are dead and in 
Heaven, and I know it. They were not baptized 
either!' Well, what we know settles a question so fat 
as it concerns us. It is perfect wisdom. But since we 
have not been to Heaven, how do we know that they 
are there, baptizea or not? 

The truth is as I see it. It is not a question of going 
to Heaven, but of finding Christ. He said the taking, 
preserving and keeping was His, and that "He had lost 
none save the son of perdition." If there is an open 
way to Heaven without Christ, without the Holy 
Spirit's sealing, without sonship to God, then there is 
a way up to Heaven without baptism. Christ said : "I 
am the way, the truth and the life, and no man oometh 
unto the Father but by Me. Finding Christ then is 
the all important thing. People have said: "I 
am waiting to feel something. I want to feel the Spirit 
more. I want to feel worthy to be la member of the 
church and to eat the Lord's Supper," and many other 
senseless reasons are offered. 

Can you draw water from a well unless you dig it 
down to water? Can you harvest a crop unless you 
dig the ground and sow the seed ? Can you find a dol- 
lar in the drawer unless one has been put in it ? Will 
a house protect you from rain if you stay out of doors? 
Can you see how diis is in natural things and not see 



NEW TESTAMENT BAPTISM^ I73 

the spiritual ? Now, earnestly, if you want religion to 
bless you, do something for religion, and religion will 
reward you. Certainly you can not expect something 
out of that into which you have put nothing. Men 
pushed themselves "by violence into the kingdom at 
John's preaching and took it by force." Is not their 
road open to you? They felt a desire to escape the 
"wrath to come." Do you? They succeeded. Can't 
vou ? When you get a violent desire to seize the king- 
dom, when you are ready to "seek first the kingdom of 
God" and come up to the help of the Lord, oh ! how 
gracious will you find Christ to be unto you. May God 
help you. 

Authority for Christian baptism is found only in the 
New Testament. The most important statements of 
baptism are given as a matter of convenience to the 
reader : 

"Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and 
all the region round about Jordan and were baptized 
of him in Jordan, confessing their sins." "And, Jesus, 
when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the 
water : and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and 
he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and 
lighting upon him : And lo, a voice from heaven, saying, 
This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased." 
Matt. 3:5, 6, 16, 17. "John did baptize in the wilder- 
ness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the re- 
mission of sins. And there went out unto him all the 
land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all bap- 
tized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their 
sins." "And it came to pass in those days that Jesus 
came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of 



174 BAPTISM. 

John in Jordan ; and straightway coming up out of the 
water, he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit like a 
dove descending upon him: And there came a voice 
from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in 
whom I am well pleased." Mark I 4, 5 ; 9-1 1. "John 
answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you 
with water ; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet 
of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall, 
baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire : Whose 
fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his 
floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner, but the 
chafif he will burn with fire unquenchable. ,, Luke 
3:16-17. "And I knew him not : but that he should be 
made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing 
with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the 
Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode 
upon him. And I knew him not : but he that sent me 
to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon 
whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remain- 
ing on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the 
Holy Ghost." John 1 :3i, 32, 33. "After these things 
came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judea ; and 
there he tarried with them, and baptized. And John 
also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because 
there was much water there : and they came, and were 
baptized." John 3 :22-23. "Then Peter said unto them, 
Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name 
of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall 
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Acts 2 :3& "And 
Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou 
mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that 
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded 



NEW TESTAMENT BAPTISM. I75 

the chariot to stand still : and they went down both into 
the water, both Philip and the eunuch ; and he baptized 
bim. And when they were come up out of the water, 
the Spirit of the Lord caught a;way Philip, that the 
eunuch saw him no more ; and he went on his way re- 
joicing." Acts 8:37-39. "And on the Sabbath we 
went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was 
wont to be made ; and we sat down, and spake unto the 
women which resorted thither. And a certain woman 
named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, 
which worshipped God, heard us : whose heart the Lord 
opened, that she attended unto the things which were 
spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her 
"household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged 
me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and 
abide there. And she constrained i us." Acts 16:13-15. 
*'Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into 
Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore 
we are buried with him by baptism into death : that like 
as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of 
the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of 
life. For if we have been planted together in the like- 
ness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his 
resurrection." Rom. 6:3-5. "Buried with him in bap- 
tism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the 
faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from 
the dead." Col. 2:12. "Let us draw near with a true 
"heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts 
sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies 
washed with pure water." Heb. 10 :22. "The like figure 
whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the 
putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer 
of a good conscience toward God), by the resurrection 
of Jesus Christ." I. Peter 3:12. 



176 BAPTISM. 

RECAPITULATION. 



Baptism to be Scriptural must comply with: 

In Adults: In Infants: 

1st — Hearing gospel preach- 1st — Hearing, impossible; 
ed; 

2d — Understanding the word ; 26. — Understanding, impossi- 
ble; 

3d — Baptism with water; 3d — Baptism with water, re- 
quired ; 

4th — Baptism in water; 4th — 'Baptism in water, not 

required : 

5th — In much water; 5th — Much water not re- 

quired ; 

6th — Going down into the 6th — Going down in water, 
water; not required; 

7th — Coming up out of tha 7th — Coming up out of wa- 
water ; ter, impossible ; 

8th — A burial in water; 8th — Burial in water, not re- 

quired ; 
9th — A resurrection from wa- 9th— Resurrection, impossi- 
tery grave; ble; 

10th — An act of righteous- 10th — Act of righteousness — 
ness ; ? ; 

nth — Symbolic state of nth — Symbolic state of 
death; death, impossible; 

1 2th — Symbolic state of new 12th — Symbolic state of new 

life. life, impossible; 

13th — Oral confession of 13th — Oral confession, im- 

Christ; possible; 

14th — Our bodies washed. 14th — Washing bodies, impos- 
Heb. 10:22. sible. 



BOOK THBEE. 



THE LORD'S SUPPER. 

Take. Eat. This is my body. Do this in remembrance of 
me. — Jesus. 

Keep the ordinances as I delivered unto you. — Paul. 



FIRST CORINTHIANS 10: 15-22. 

15. I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. 

16. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the com- 
munion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, 
is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 

17. For we being many are one bread, and one body: for 
we are all partakers of that one bread. 

18. Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat 
of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? 

19. What say . I then ? That the idol is anything, or that 
which is offered in sacrifice to idols is anything? 

20. But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, 
they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not 
that ye should have fellowship with devils. 

21. Ye can not drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup 
of devils : ye can not be partakers of the Lord's table, and of 
the table of devils. 

22. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger 
than he? 

31. Whether therefore ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do, 
do all to the glory of God. 



THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



The Lord's Supper According to Christ — The Impera- 
tive Duty of Christians to Eat — The Eestrictions 
Surrounding It — Its Symbolic Meaning. 

Baptism and the Lord's Supper is more often the 
theme of conversation than any other Bible doctrine. 
Strange to say that I have not heard as much misin- 
formation on anything as about the Supper. In most 
things of which people speak, they seek for more in- 
formation. But the merest tyro in Biblical knowledge 
is a bold teacher of communion. Very few of the 
misinformed speak of it from any personal examina- 
tion they have made. Their knowledge consists of 
repetitions that were started wrong in the beginning. 
The practice of "Our Church" so overrides the 
Bible narrative about th^e Supper* that the reader 
scarcely sees what he reads when reading the Bible. 
Repetition is fact with many. 

Paul is often repeating, "I know, I know, I know." 
John frequently says, "We know, we know, we know." 

"A knowledge of whereof we speak" was the order 
in Apostles' days. Who has said that, something 
else, shall be the order in our modern days? There 
will be "no guessing at it." Why should there be.?" 
Is God's Book to be "guessed at," or is it a book to "be 
known and read of all men ?" 



l8o THE LORD'S SUPPER. 

Another small class who are no longer worthy of 
membership among Baptists and are preparing to make 
a leap, have bitterness in their mouths to justify them- 
selves beforehand in their departure. In the kindest 
feeling that is warmed in my heart toward my fellow 
creatures and brethren in Christ, as this question has 
confronted me, a student in search of truth, I will pre- 
sent just as I find it in the Bible. It has never been a 
point with me to see if the doctrine of the Bible could 
be made to support Baptists' faith, but if their faith 
was a natural, truthful deduction of the Bible. My 
time in a study of the Bible from the first day until now 
has been that of a pupil on every question. In many 
things all Christians are agreed, some of which I shall 
note as I pass along. 

In eating and drinking we are truly holding com- 
munion with our Lord, when it is directed solely to 
that end; but sadly do we miss communion with our 
Lord when we are eating and drinking to show love 
and fellowship for each other. It is then a dead thing. 
For, when it is taken in in that way, it is diverted from 
the Lord's purpose as a memorial supper of his death, 
to a love-feast among friends. 

There is a misuse of the word "communion" in com- 
mon use. Its primary meaning is to have friendly 
converse between members of the same fraternity. 
Farmers, merchants, preachers, teachers, etc., can do 
this in "fraternal meetings," where they are "consider- 
ing the good of the order?" 

"They that feared the Lord spake often one to an- 
other," and Christians thus we see speaking, singing, 
praying, laying plans for broader work, etc., have com- 



PASCHAL LAMB. l8l 

munion one with another. The word does not always 
imply eating. 

We found much light in the Old Testament that 
helped us to find the church and baptism, and I want 
to draw again on the same fountain in discussing this 
question. The Old Testament serves as a deed to a 
plat of land; the New, serves as the land itself. It is 
necessary then to read the deed to find the point of be- 
ginning and to know how to find all the angles and 
corners. 

The point of beginning is Exodus 12. "This month 
shall be unto you the beginning of months ; it shall be 
the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all 
the congregation of Israel saying, In the tenth day of 
this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, 
according to the house of their fathers ; a lamb for a 
house : And if the household be too little for the lamb, 
let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it 
according to the number of souls ; every man accord- 
ing to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the 
first year ; ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from 
the goats : And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth 
day of the same month ; and the whole assembly of the 
congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And 
they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two 
side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, 
wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat of the 
flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened 
bread ; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not 
it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with 
fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance 



1 82 THE LORD'S SUPPER. 

thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until 
the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the 
morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat 
it ; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and 
your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste; 
it is the Lord's passover. For I will pass through the 
land of Egypt this night and will smite all the firstborn 
in the land of Egypt, both man and beast ; and against 
all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment; I am 
the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token 
upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the 
blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be 
upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of 
Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memo- 
rial ; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout 
your generations ; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordi- 
nance forever. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened 
bread ; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out 
of your houses; for whosoever eateth leavened bread 
from the first day until the seventh, that soul shall be 
cut off from Israel. And in the first day there shall be a 
holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be 
a holy convocation to you ; no manner of work shall be 
done in them, save that which every man must eat, 
that only may be done of you. And ye shall observe 
the feast of unleavened bread ; for in this selfsame day 
have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt ; 
therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations 
by an ordinance forever. In the first month, on the 
fourteenth day of the month, at even, ye shall eat un- 
leavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the 
month at even. Seven days shall there be no leaven 



A TEST CASE. I 83 

found in your houses ; for whosoever eateth that which 
is leavened, even that soul shall be cut out from the 
congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger or 
born in the land. Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in 
all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread." 
(Read the whole chapter.) 

Moses was driven to an extremity one day by a pecu- 
liar condition in which two men found themselves 
when the second celebration of the passover was draw- 
ing nigh. This needed further legislation to cover 
every possible situation of a Jew's life regarding that 
supper, and Moses took it to the Lord, not venturing 
to say himself, as he was only a scribe who received the 
law, and not a legislator. The history of the case is 
here given with the amended law. 

And there were certain men who were defiled by the 
dead body of a man, and they could not keep the pass- 
over on that day, and they came before Moses and be- 
fore Aaron on that day. And those men said unto him. 
We are defiled by the dead body of a man wherefore 
are we kept back that we may not offer an offering to 
the Lord in His appointed season among the children 
of Israel ? And Moses said unto them, Stand still and I 
will hear what the Lord will command concerning you. 
Arm the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto 
the children of Israel, saying : If any man of you or of 
your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead 
body, or be in a journey afar off, ye shall keep the pass- 
over unto the Lord. The fourteenth day of the second 
month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with un- 
leavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none 
of it in the morning nor break any bone of it ; accord- 



184 the lord's supper. 

ing to all the ordinances of the passover they shall 
keep it. But the man that is clean and is not in a 
journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the 
same shall be cut off from among his people, because 
he brought not the oering of the Lord in his appointed 
season, that man shall bear his sin. — Num. 9 :6-i3- 

The men who had touched the dead body of a man 
were foul, unclean, profane, and would defile anything 
they touched that was to be used in religious rites. In 
that state they were debarred from everything but eat- 
ing, and it put them under penalty of losing citizenship 
and to bear their sins forever without a reclaiming 
clause, if they failed to eat. These two men were be- 
tween two fires, and only God could give relief. It 
appears that God had a design in so wording the law 
as to punctuate the value and importance of eating the 
passover. God was to make choice of a place where 
all Jews were to assemble once a year to "kill the pass- 
over," and no other place would do in the homeland 
but that place. No exemptions nor substitutes allowed 
for any cause, not even to the man in a journey. 
Deut. 12:5-26; 16:2. 

I want you to refer back again to verses 16, 47 and 
48 of Exodus 12, and note that "all must eat," and also 
Numbers 9:13, fixing a penalty, making it an 
inexcusable offense not to eat. See also Galatians 3 no 
and Hebrews 10:26 as to the magnitude of offense if 
we do not eat. 

"Command the children of Israel, that they put out 
of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an 
issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead. Bbth male 



A PARAMOUNT DUTY. 185 

and female shall ye put out; without the camp shall 
ye put them, that they defile not the camps in the midst 
whereof I dwell." Num. 5 :2-2. See also Lev. 21 -.1-3 ; 
Chron. 19:11-13, and 31 :ig. 

God made the keeping of the passover a paramount 
duty, not to be neglected under any conditions that 
could arise. Can a shadow be more dense than the 
substance which made the shadow? If this is fore- 
shadowing Christ's Supper, does it not show how very 
important it is to eat it? 

Now I wish to call attention to those who could not 
eat it though in camp with Israel : Foreigners, stran- 
gers, hired servants, and all men not circumcised by a 
Jewish priest. The law was not a loose mother hub- 
bard dress that will fit any one, but was made of certain 
exactions not to be overlooked. It accepted no sub- 
stitutes, it accepted no excuses, it required exactly what 
was specified — no more, no less — or there was a "pollu- 
tion," and so does the New Testament. God made it 
a duty of the Jewish priest to circumcise all male chil- 
dren, bought servants and proselytes. Circumcision 
was a custom of Ethiopian, Libyan, Abyssinian, Egyp- 
tian, Samaritan and Ishmaelite, the descendants of 
Isaac's half-brother, and the Edomite, Jacob's full twin- 
brother. 

Should one of them desire to become a Jew he must 
have the Jewish circumcision. Jethro, Moses' father- 
in-law, doubtless had his Midianite circumcision, which 
stood between him and Moses' entreaty to "Go with us 
and we will do thee good," not willing to have the Jew- 
ish rite put on him over his native custom. In eating 
the passover supper the Jews had this much choice : to 



186 the lord's supper. 

let another family of Jews eat with them, that all the 
lamb may be eaten, or to burn all that was not eaten in 
the night, but nothing in the law pushed them into 
taking a family, as they could burn the uneaten part. 

Now turn to section on "Heroic Measures" under 
head of Public Offenses for a complete list of crimes 
of which a church must expunge before she sets 
the Lord's table to eat the Supper. Always remember, 
that "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." 

All this that is in the deed must bear heavily enough 
on the plat of land to make the title good in the Church 
of God. To know how this governed Christ in estab- 
lishing the Supper in the church, is needful. Matthew 
makes the most comprehensive statement of the facts. 
We will now hear what he says: 

"Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread 
the Disciples came to Jesus, saying unto Him, Where 
wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the passover? 
And He said go into the city to such a man, and say 
unto him, the Master saith, My time is at hand ; I will 
keep the passover at thy house with My disciples. And 
the Disciples did as Jesus had appointed them ; and they 
made ready the passover. Now when the even was 
come He sat down with the twelve. And as they did 
eat, He said, Verily, I say unto you, that one of you 
shall betray me. And they were exceedingly sorrow- 
ful, and began every one of them to say unto him, 
Lord, is it I ? And He answered and said, He that dip- 
peth his hand with Me in the dish, the same shall be- 
tray me. The Son of Man goeth as it is written of 
Him ; but woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man 
is betrayed ! it had been good for that man if he had not 



SUPPER INSTITUTED. 187 

been born. Then Judas, which betrayed Him, an- 
swered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, 
Thou hast said." Matt. 26:17-25. 

This is Matthew's narrative, and we should not over- 
look one fact. That is : This all occurred before Jesus 
instituted His own Supper, which came after the con- 
clusion of the passover supper. A narrative that tells 
about the Lord's Supper is given in these words : "And 
as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, 
and brake it, and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, 
eat, this is my body. And He took the cup, and gave 
thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it : 
For this is My blood of the New Testament, which is 
shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say 
unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of 
the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you 
in My Father's kingdom." Matt. 26 126-29. See Mark 
14:22-26; Luke 22:19, 20. 

Mark's statement of the Supper is in nearly the exact 
words of Matthew, and are on record 14:12-26. Luke 
was seemingly in haste to finish his account of the pass- 
over, and took two verses in which to tell of the Lord's 
Supper, and placed them as a parenthetical clause in 
the middle of his story about the Jews' passover. Luke 
is not so lengthy, clear nor orderly as the two writers 
before him. Any one who will read thoughtfully the 
three writers will see this. If we do not deliberate 
over this feature we will get badly confused in Luke's 
account and deny one thing only incidentally mentioned 
by Mark and Matthew, and that is elaborated by John 
in his gospel : That fact is the absence of Judas from 
the Lord's Supper, and as being present only partly 
through the passover supper. See Luke 22:7-2^. 



i88 the lord's supper. 

John is said to have written his gospel several years 
later than the writing of the other three gospels, and 
possibly he had read them. He gives but little that is 
common in the other gospels, with reference to the pass- 
over. A careful examination of John's gospel leads 
me to see a history of the last days of Jesus' life, be- 
ginning in Ch. 7 :i4. John, in Ch. 13 : is very elaborate 
about the last passover supper with His disciples, but 
he does not give a formal introduction to the opening 
up of that supper. It is noticeable to the deliber- 
ate reader who investigates, that John does not give the 
slightest hint as to the Lord's Supper. John elaborates 
this passover and feet washing to show just when 
"Judas went out," during the passover and never re- 
turned unto Jesus until he betrayed Him with a kiss 
in the garden of Gethsemane. I call attention to this, 
to show how Christ delicately manipulated Judas "who 
is a devil/ 9 to keep him out of eating the "Holy Com- 
munion Service," giving an example "of Kow devils" 
must be sent out before we "set the table." Jesus did 
all these things under the law that "not one jot nor 
tittle of the law should be left not fulfilled by Him. 
The Supper of the Gospel era was added, to com- 
pletely close the "Law Era!' 

The law said this : In the most holy place thou shalt 
eat it ; every male shall eat it ; it shall be holy unto thee. 
Num. 18:10. The Lord's Supper should be as holy 
unto Christians as the passover was to Jews. The 
passover day was the happiest among all the days of 
the year. In the fondest anticipation of its approach, 
he would begin to count the days as it drew near. 

But as the Jews had to clean up and sanctify them- 



FEET WASHING. 189 

selves before that day, so must the church clean up 
the guilty, unworthy members before the Lord's Sup- 
per is served. \ Cor. 5:11-13; Heb. 13:7-12. 

Feet washing was a part of the last passover supper. 
It is stated in John 13 :io, that Jesus began to fill up full 
Moses' law by asking and answering questions. Jesus' 
teaching continues on into verse 17. In the next four 
verses He made a revelation that caused distress to 
His Apostles. They began an investigation to reveal 
which of their number was so base in character as to 
betray their Lord. Jesus, in answer to the investiga- 
tions, in verse 26 said : "He it is to whom I shall give 
a sop (a morsel of bread), when I have dipped it." 
In suspended breathing, with the deep anxiety of 
death, they awaited the "dipping." Judas was the 
last to ask: "Master is it I?" and all unconscious of 
what he was doing "he put his hand in the dish." 
Judas was apparently unwilling to repeat the question 
of the other disciples "Is it I?" but their stillness 
forced it out of him, while he was running through 
his mind how best to fulfill his contract with Annas, 
the high priest. So deeply absorbed in that was he, 
that he was in a dreamy state as to his actions at table, 
and of what went on around him. The Savior had 
prepared His morsel of bread and touched the hand of 
Judas as he dipped it in the dish. Those who were 
keenly alive to every word and action of Jesus saw 
and felt a relief from the charge of betrayal as perfectly 
as if their Lord had said: "My friends, this is the 
traitor," when He said: "Yes, Judas, thou hast said. 
Take this sopped morsel and eat it." Judas accepted 
it, and not hardly conscious of what he was doing 



I90 THE LORD'S SUPPER. 

until in the act of swallowing the morsel. Then, 
abashed at what had happened, "he went immediately 
out, and it was night." The dense cloud having passed 
away for the moment, Jesus resumed His teaching, 
which was a legal part of the passover of the Jews. 
The principal part of that teaching is put on record 
in the next three chapters, viz., John 14, 15 and 16. 
That teaching was most appropriately closed by a 
prayer, and we read it in the seventeenth chapter. 

The feet washing, which takes so much of John's 
space, was instituted, so far as I can learn after years 
of study, to quell a discordant element in apostolic 
circles. "The mother of Zebedee's children" made re- 
quest of Jesus that "one should sit on His right and 
one on His left hand when Thou comest into Thy king- 
dom." This excited the jealousy of the remaining 
ten as to who should be greatest among them when 
Jesus was removed by death from His leadership. At 
the table of the last passover they had that question up 
for the last time. Jesus washed their feet and taught 
them such a lesson in it that it quelled their feeling 
of supremacy and hushed up that question into such 
profound silence that not for eighteen centuries does 
it come into use again. The Lord had to complete the 
law, and customs under the law, to become its end 
for righteousness — to relieve them — the believers, 
from under the law. If we wash feet we drag our- 
selves back under the law and then fail to keep the 
example for want of circumcision. Paul said : "Who- 
soever is justified by the law is fallen from grace." Is 
it possible that feet washers are struggling to get out 
of grace back under the law without knowing 



FEET WASHING. I9I 

the harm that would come to them if they succeeded? 
Do you know that they would be under the same condi- 
tion of the Jews, if they got back under the law ? To 
know the Jews present state read in Romans eleventh 
chapter. I don't elect that condition. To be exact in 
washing feet according to Christ's model, no women, 
but twelve preachers — no more, no less — must be 
present. The greatest one among them must wash the 
others feet and leave his own unwashed. To keep the 
model perfect, one man, the greatest one — must wash 
the feet of all others present, and then take his seat. 
No reciprocal washings can occur if the model is our 
guide. If not, then why wash at all ? 

I have made a slight examination of the writings of 
Catholic, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Lutheran and 
Methodist confessions of faith. I have read the Phila- 
delphia, Baltimore and New Hampshire declarations 
of faith for Baptists, and it is not in them. I know 
nothing of it as a practice in the churches until the 
Hardshell Baptists began to practice it after their de- 
parture in 1833. That was full eighteen centuries 
after Jesus' death before it was made prominent by 
their practice. 

If it was to be kept up by the Apostles and the 
churches after their death, the Holy Spirit overlooked 
it and failed to bring to their remembrance the prac- 
tice of feet washing. And therefore nothing is said 
of its practice by any of the churches which were under 
the eyes of the Apostles. Paul said : "Keep the ordinan- 
ces as I delivered them unto you," and gave us the 
closest detail of Baptism and how to eat the Supper, 
but did not mention feet washing. This is evidence 



192 THE LORD S SUPPER. 

that Jesus used it to bring a leveling equality among 
the Apostles and all preachers. It was a success, and 
the one washing closed the act forever. 

Christ's teaching was resumed at verse 31, and was 
continued through chapters fourteen, fifteen and six- 
teen, in that same room, and most properly closed by 
prayer, which is recorded in chapter seventeen. After 
that prayer must be the time when Christ instituted 
His own Supper, as chapter 18 begins like Matthew 
26:29-30 and Mark 14:25, 26. Teaching while eat- 
ing, and after eating, was part of the law governing 
the passover. See Exod. 12:25-27, Exod. 13:8-10. 
It was also a time to ask questions and be taught. 
See Deut, 32 :j ; Joshua 4 :6 ; Psalms 78,1-7. In the pres- 
ent chapter and the next three, the Savior was ful- 
filling every jot and tittle of the law, and the practice 
under that law of Israel. 

Now notice how stern and emphatic are the words 
of Christ: "Take, eat," "Drink ye all of it." In 
obedience to this law when eating, we must "Examine 
ourselves to see if we be in the faith." (II. Cor. 13:5) 
as a preparation to eat, and to see if it is to set forth 
our faith in "Remembrance" of Christ, as to what I do 
now. It must point to a page of history in the life of 
Christ as a bleeding sacrifice, broken in body, a Savior 
of sinners, and that I am a sinner saved by that suffer 
ing. And as a witness and a prophet, my eating must 
declare that Christ is coming to earth agaim Finally, 
I must disclaim any other purpose in mind, in heart 
or in purpose, than to show my faith in Christ. It is 
more than my mind can grasp how a church member 
can refuse to eat in the face of such a strong, uncom- 



PRE-REQUISITES. 193 

promising law and be innocent? Can you refuse to eat 
and not be in rebellion against your God and the Law- 
giver? (I. Sam. 15 123). "Oh! but I am afraid of my 
unworthiness !" Let us see if you are. What induced 
you to be a member of the church? Did you come 
through faith in the name of Christ? Were you full of 
a desire to be a real and helpful member of Christ's 
body ? Were you worthy to take the vow that is in your 
baptism? Did you believe in your heart that your 
baptism was in loving obedience to Christ ? Yes ? Well, 
whatever made you worthy for church membership 
prepares you for all the duties of a church member. 
No duty or obligation of a Christian is greater than 
partaking of the Lord's Supper. 

All Christian people so far as I know are agreed 
that repentance toward God, faith in the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and baptism in His name are necessary and re- 
quired in a church of her members as a pre-requisite 
qualification to the Lord's table. 

God clothed Jesus with "all power in heaven 
and in earth" from which He drew as authority 
to say: "Take, eat," "Drink ye all of it." If pure 
motives and truth moved you to ask for membership 
in the church, then that, back of your baptism, re- 
moves all unworthiness in eating the Lord's Supper 
if it is eaten in remembrance of Jesus. 

The admission that Baptists are scripturally bap- 
tized is a confession that those not immersed fled off 
on a tangent at baptism and are not baptized. If 
baptism is a qualifying factor to eat and drink in the 
kingdom, then any one not immersed is not qualified 
to eat. Now, my brother, you who are not immersed 



194 THE LORDS SUPPER. 

are not qualified to eat, you yourself being the judge. 
If you eat it; it is a carnival and not the Lord's Sup- 
per. And you may say : "am I not eating and drinking 
damnation because not qualified ?" This argument is 
not made to unchristianize. Let us take an in- 
stance : In a meeting, say that twelve relate a most 
satisfactory experience of grace. Six of them only 
accept baptism, but I would have baptized all of them 
on their confession of salvation, as "the saved." Those 
who were baptized have a scriptural right to eat. 
Baptism makes the right to the baptized. The need 
of baptism broke the right of the other six. Sup- 
pose the six would go and do something as a sub- 
stitute for baptism. Can they be admitted on equal 
terms with baptized members. Eating is not a matter 
of conscience nor qualification — it is a test of loyalty 
to Christ in those who are scripturally qualified. Try 
it with a Master Mason and a would-be Mason, to en- 
ter a Masonic lodge, and you will quickly see which 
enters the lodge. Then Baptism is immersion, or it is 
not immersion. There is but "One Baptism" made in 
one way, for one class of people — one class are bap- 
tized Christians, the other is not. That is the differ- 
ence. One can eat worthily, the other can not. The 
one who is baptized is accepted of Jesus as a baptized 
laborer in His vineyard. The other is not. Would a 
laborer be worthy to eat the food prepared for him 
by his employer? Christ has a right to be the judge 
ot what food He has prepared especially to feed His 
Church. Church life is much like married life. The 
husband, who is head of the house, has his home 
rules and provides the things for his household to eat, 



FELLOWSHIP WITH DEVILS. ±95 

which all enjoy without a question. So Christ has 
made all His home rules and provides the right food 
to appear on His table, and expects every one who 
becomes a member of His household to submit to all 
His laws, and eat the food He gives. "Oh ! dear, donj 
urge, don't rush me. I am afraid. It is too sacred 
and I don't want it put at me that way. I prefer tc 
sit back and hover my fear, and not eat." 

Well, Satan is out to cheat, to deceive, with a half 
statement or a double statement — "Like a roaring lion" 
to frighten some one, "Seeking whom he may devour," 
with fear, or with deception. 

My brother, if you eat, not discerning "the Lord's 
body;" if you eat to aid church membership; if you 
eat to show friendship or fellowship, then you are 
"not discerning the Lord's body," and truly in this 
you "eat and drink damnation to your soul." Paul 
thought he had made that question clear in I. Cor. 
10:15-22 and 31, in which he said: "I speak as to wise 
men ; judge ye what I say. The cup of blessing which 
we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of 
Chrhi? The bre^H wViic.li we break, is it not the com- 
munion of the body of Christ? For we being many 
are one bread, and one body ; for we are all partakers 
of that one bread. Behold Israel after the flesh; are 
not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the 
altar? What say I then? That the idol is anything, 
or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any- 
thing? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles 
sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God ; and 
I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. 



I96 THE LORD'S SUPPER. 

Ye can not drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of 
devils; ye can not be partakers of the Lord's table, 
and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord 
to jealousy? are we stronger than He? Whether 
therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all 
to the glory of God." 

From this we see the Corinthian saints needed in- 
struction and correction in their practice. They had 
been mingling the sacrifices offered in sacrifice to 
devils with the sacrificial Supper of Christ. By a 
mixture of the two, they were really eating to devils 
only. To continue eating to devils was to eat damna- 
tion, certainly, and Paul wrote there to correct their 
practices. In the eleventh chapter we find a further 
statement: "One is hungry." "Another is drunken" 
— a description of heathen revelry, put off for Chris- 
tian ethics. "The feeding of gluttony and drunkenness" 
were to be displaced by a crumb of bread, a sip of wine 
in a quiet way, at "One place," at the same time by 
all, in "Remembrance of Christ till He comes again." 
take, eat, is the uncompromising command of Christ. 
Can you refuse to eat? He promised to give "New 
drinking," new "eating that ye know not of," and we 
can not know it in our present state. This unworthy 
eating and drinking may be practiced in several ways, 
while there is but one way to do what is right. That 
way is in remembrance of Jesus Christ as my Lord 
and Saviour. 

But I can not understand why all Christians are not 
"invited" to the Lord's table, persists a friend. Take 
Matthew's narrative to see who were present, and see 
if you are not far more astonished at the persons ab- 



ARE INVITATIONS SCRIPTURAL. Ity} 

sent than you are pleased at the ones present. Eleven 
were present with Jesus at the instituting of the Sup- 
per. But who were absent that we might very easily 
imagine as worthy to be present? I would say His 
mother, the six other Marys of the New Testament, 
the children of His mother's home, Joanna and his 
aunt Salome, Mary, Martha and Lazarus, who were His 
best of earthly friends ; and all that large company of 
who followed Him from Galilee ministering unto Him 
of their substance; and last, but among the greatest, 
was Nioodemus and Joseph, who gave Jesus the first 
Christian burial. Why was this array of His friends 
left out if it was proper to invite or permit those not in 
organized relation with Him to eat the Supper? 

If to invite loving friends was the proper thing to 
do, Jesus had an opportunity never to be surpassed in 
making invitations. Was it an oversight in Him, 
caused by the rush of the season, that made Him over- 
look such friends? If so, then Paul had the very finest 
opportunity to correct Christ's mistakes when he was 
correcting and "setting in order the disorderly things 
at Corinth/' under inspiration_of the Holy Spirit ; but 
the truth is, he said nothing about it. What gate, 
then, stands ajar for us through which to make invita- 
tions, if Christ took only the immersed Christians in 
the "organized," "ordained" band to eat with Him 
without invitations? If you want to eat at Philippi, 
Macedonia, Smyrna or Ephesus when you pass by, let 
a church prepare you by immersion, which will be 
your passport to the table in any church. Jesus had 
none but baptized members in His church, and only 
church members ate the Supper as instituted by Him.* 

* The order of things instituted by Christ was baptism be- 
fore church membership and church membership before eating 



I98 THE LORD'S SUPPER. 

That is all the reason I can give why countless multi- 
tudes of baptized people were not with Him. They were 
not members of His "organized," "ordained" church. 
All who will get in a church to-day, as the Apostles 
did, will need no invitation. Christ could have made 
no mistake in overlooking the million of baptized peo- 
ple. His command, I want to say again, was too posi- 
tive — "Take, eat," "drink ye all of if — to leave a crev- 
ice for an invitation, and we are not to exercise the 
goodness to improve on the words, or examples of 
Jesus. Evidently His example was sufficient for all 
time. The baptized multitudes not in the church were 
not to have church privileges until they were added to 
the church. The command is too exacting on menv- 
bers of the church for them to be innocent when they 
do not eat the Lord's Supper. 

Moses' law restricted foreigners and strangers, but 
made the Jew* at home, and the Jew in a journey eat. 
Paul, with his seven traveling friends, shows us that 
the traveling brother to-day, when he arrives at Troas 
on communion day, will take a seat at the table with 
the home brethren, without waiting as a stranger or 
foreigner, to be pulled up with invitations. Christ 
left His church open so that all Christians could enter 
it. If they will answer His call, invitations will be a past 
question for all the days to come. Who began mak- 
ing invitations, any way? Where did they originate? 
Give the Scripture on it, please. If our invitations 
are not scriptural should they be retained as a part 
of "our church practice?" 

Let us now take a glance at the practice of the 
Jerusalem Church under Apostolic leadership. They 



OPEN COMMUNION. Ip9 

that gladly received His word were baptized and they 
continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and 
fellowship, and in breaking of bread from house to 
house. Acts 2. No member of the Jerusalem Church 
would have remained a member if they had been shut 
off from the table. Don't you know how badly you 
wanted baptism — would not have stayed in the church 
without it ? Why then will you remain in church and 
refuse one of her ordinances, when you would not have 
remained if the other had been denied to you. If in- 
vitations in any way amends, modifies, corrects, adds 
to or diminishes God's Word then see Deut. 4:2; 27: 
26 ; Prov. 30 :6 ; Ezek, 44 :6-8 ; Jer. 11:13 and 6-8 ; Rev. 
22:18-19. 

I have talked with ministers of all the churches in 
regard to church members. All of them tell me that 
baptism must precede church membership, and that 
church membership is a condition required of all be- 
fore they can admit them to the Lord's table. Bap- 
tists are in line with them. Then all see some things 
just in the same way. So our real difference is about 
a baptized membership, and not in the eating. Quite 
a host of ideas prevail about the "Terms of commun- 
ion. 

The "Practice of Baptists is seclusive, close-fisted, 
bigoted, narrow-hearted and selfish," has been said by 
the very people who practice a far greater narrowness 
— and draw a line through their membership and shut 
out — their infants and thus become restricted in their 
practice. Baptists, on the other hand, feel offended 
if all their members fail to eat and so a real "open 
communion to all her membership" comes with each 
eating of the Lord's Supper. 



200 THE LORD S SUPPER. 

Catholics 'and Episcopalians give the eucharist only 
to their own members. Who brings an indictment 
against them for it? If others are consistently follow- 
ing their "GENERAL: RULES," why do they disturb 
others for doing the same thing? 

To hold that Christ instituted Christian baptism on 
the day of His ascension (Matt. 28:19), as claimed 
by those pentecostal birthday, theory people, is one of 
the absurdities that sprinkling for baptism! has con- 
ceived and brought forth. Even if the baptism of John 
was not Christian, surely the baptism of Christ was 
(John 3:22), for if the practices of Christ were not 
Christian where would we go to find what is Chris- 
tian ? Who would say that the baptism that was admin- 
istered by Jesus was not by authority of the baptism 
He received of John? 

"If Christian baptism was instituted only after the 
resurrection, then it would come to pass that the in- 
stitution of the Lord's Supper, which took place be- 
fore the crucifixion, was not Christian; or, if Chris- 
tian, then the Lord's Supper was instituted before 
Christian baptism. But, as it is universally agreed 
that in its administration baptism should precede the 
Supper, the conclusion is inevitable that in its institu- 
tion Christian baptism preceded the Supper." — Baptist 
Argus. 

Some people say it is because of "close baptism" 
that we let only our own members "in to supper." I 
do not know of such baptism in the New Testament. 
If I had the phrasing, I would say: 



COMPARISONS. 20I 

A Close Membership 

in the church results from having a New Testament 
baptism which secures a right to eat. An affable 
Presbyterian minister said to the writer: "I think 
the main difference between Baptists and Presbyte- 
rians is in their terms of communion. If they were 
united in that there would be no difference be- 
tween them. They are close in terms — we are open." 

"Yes, sir ; there is a difference in terms, but the real 
difference lies back in our close membership — made 
close in baptism. Our terms of communion are open to 
all of our members. Our baptism passes our members 
on to the table. You have a baptism that closes up at 
the table against your most innocent membership. All 
our members eat; a part of yours don't. Our table is 
open to all in the church. Yours is open to only a part. 

I listened to a Methodist minister prove to his de- 
light that "Sprinkling was Scriptural Baptism." I 
have a sermon on "No Immersion in the Bible/' by Dr. 
A. R. Cocke, a Presbyterian minister of Waynesboro, 
Va. In it he proves to his own mind "No Immersion." 
He is boisterously glad that it was pouring or sprink- 
ling, but he did not decide which, nor cause me to de- 
cide. Both preachers were in harmony against immer- 
sion. If Presbyterians and Methodists can unite on 
some one, thing for baptism, and if they can agree on 
something in which Baptists can agree with them, then 
all the barriers to the Lord's table will be removed!" 

Spurgeon's Open Communion. 

"Well, brother, how about Spurgeon? He was 
practically an open communionist." 



202 THE LORD'S SUPPER. 

Mr. Spurgeon's open communion was a very unfair 
thing. He would, on application, grant a "check to 
communion/' to any one not a member of his church, 
and if the same party applied for the third check he 
was asked why he had not united with him, and all 
checks were withheld until their name was on Spur- 
geon's church roll. A curious custom surely, 
and practiced by no one else. Mr. Spurgeon said, 
to an American Baptist preacher : "If I were in Amer- 
ica I would be a close communion Baptist.' ' Then why 
not, Mr. Spurgeon, make that practice in London? 

When our friends invite "Christians of all denomi- 
nations" they are consistent, for so that water is ap- 
plied in baptism, whether it is much or little; if the 
individual is satisfied, their church is. Baptists want 
much water used in a specific way, so that "Our bodies 
are washed in pure water." Heb. 10 :22. This would 
make a difference also in the quantity used. "Three 
drops," could not wet nor "wash our bodies." 

When Pedo Baptists make invitations to eat they 
want a man to be a member of some church in good 
standing, or they fail to feel honored by the response. 

In proof that Baptists and paedo-Baptists be- 
lieve that water baptism is a pre-requisite to all who 
would come to the Lord's table, consult any standard 
work on "Terms of Communion." 

"Disciples" and Close Communion. 

The Disciples have been considered up-to-date as 
being "Open Communionists," so called. That they 
have in part, and soon will as a people, give up that 



CLOSE COMMUNION. 203 

practice, seems an easy conclusion from the following, 
which appeared in the Baptist Argus, April, 1903: 

Elder J. A. Hardin, editor of The Way, a Disciple 
paper, and the head of the "Bible School" at Bowling 
Green, Ky., says on the first page of his paper, August 
14, 1902: 

"Some time ago a letter from Scotland asked this 
question: 'What is the divinely revealed practice on 
the communion question?' and 'What is your teaching 
on the subject?' It is certain that immersed believers 
were those to whom Christ gave the Supper; nor is 
there the slightest evidence that any but immersed be- 
lievers partook of it in the Apostolic age. We walk 
by faith when we teach and act according to these 
facts. I could not partake of a supper, designed to 
commemorate the Lord's death, set by Psedo-baptists. 
I could not invite them to partake with us. It seems 
clear to me that no one who walks by faith can do 
these things." 

He said in Gospel Advocate, April 11, 1883: 

"I think in some cases it is done (open communion) 
to court favor with the sects, and in others for the lack 
of knowledge on the subject. They who do it for 
favor of the sects, merely to appear liberal toward 
them, eat and drink condemnation." 

He follows Mr. Alexander Campbell, who says in 
"Christian Baptism," Vol. 6, page 528 : 

"I object to making it a rule, in any case, to receive 
unimmersed persons to church ordinances: 1. Because 
it is nowhere commanded. 2. Because it is nowhere 
precedented in the New Testament. 3. Because it 
necessarily corrupts the simplicity and uniformity of 



204 THE LORD'S SUPPER. 

the whole genius of the New Testament. 4. Because 
it not only deranges the order of the kingdom, but 
makes void one of the most important institutions ever 
given to man. It necessarily makes immersion of non- 
effect." 

Once a lady was a regular attendant at my services. 
She was the daughter of an uncompromising Metho- 
dist father. She was a reader of her Testament, and 
from it she became to be a believer in immersion, but 
did not see far enough to rise above her first impres- 
sion against "close communion" ; neither could she 
see that baptism, all the time, and in every case, was a 
pre-requisite to the Lord's table. To meet her case, I 
prepared my sermon on the "Effect of Baptism." She 
listened through it very attentively, but after dismis- 
sion she broke down in a most piteous cry, and sank 
down on her seat. A subdued silence reigned among 
the audience for awhile, awaiting developments. Her 
husband went and bent over her, speaking soothing 
words, and raised her to her feet. At the door she 
came in touch with her son. Clasping him in her 
arms, she exclaimed: "Oh! if my father could only 
have heard that sermon!" Her father's faith loomed 
up so high before her that she could not rise to the 
importance of the hour, and remained apparently an 
unsatisfied soul. 

I called the third day and made statements which 
are recorded in these pages, about all churches requir- 
ing baptism as a condition of church membership, and 
that when invitations were made, it was to baptized 
members of churches and not to the unbaptized. 
"Now, since nothing but immersion would satisfy your 




A LADY CONVINCED. 205 

conscience with a good answer to God, these very peo- 
ple you would have me invite, have no baptism, you 
yourself, being the judge, yet you sit in judgment on 
us for not doing a thing you condemn. You won't 
join the Methodists and eat with them because they 
have no baptism that will make you rejoice, nor you 
won't come to us and get a baptism that would send 
you on your way rejoicing. According to the faith of 
Paedo-baptists, they could very properly ask you who 
was 'sprinkled in infancy/ to eat with them, you 
claiming to be a Christian. The Methodists will take 
the Supper next Sunday. Will you not go up and eat 
with them? You have all their rights and privileges in 
your baptism to eat with them ?" 

"Oh! no, no! no, sir; I must be baptized as Christ 
was, to have scriptural baptism. I have no "Baptism ! 
I feel that I would do a great wrong to eat it un- 
baptized !" 

"Why, sister, you astonish me. You carry as good 
baptism as do any Paedobaptists. And they set the 
table and eat. That is not all. They invite you, and 
all who have your baptism, all that claim to be Chris- 
tians, and you decline to eat with them. Do you ?" 

"Most certainly I do, because they are unbaptized, 
and they certainly ought to have baptism before they 
set the Lord's table, or ask others to eat with them !'" 

"Well ! You astonish me more and more. You have 
confessed your faith in my baptism. The church will 
take the Supper next Sunday. You refuse it at the 
hands of the Methodist minister. Will you come and 
take it at my hands?" 

"No sir, indeed ; I can not take the Supper with any 



206 



THE LORD S SUPPER. 



one until I have been baptized," she said so earnestly 
and pleadingly. 

"And yet, how curious you are ! You refuse mem- 
bership to yourself in a church that believes just the 
same as you do, because she won't do the very thing 
you persistently refuse to do. If you can't go and eat 
with your paedo friends, pray tell me why they should 
come here and eat with me?" 

An open communion church is one in which all her 
own members are free to the table. Restricted Commun- 
ionists are those who hold back part of their most in- 
nocent members — their infants. We are charged with 
judging them harshly, and they tell us that "We must 
not judge," the thing they are persistent in doing. But 
there is one thing we must do. Peter says : "The time 
has come that judgment must begin at the house of 
God." Not out of it. Our judgment stops at our 
door. We must, however, judge of doctrines in order 
to "Be of one mind" and live in the same faith. 

The Jews had an organized national government 
when the law was delivered to them. The law to eat 
was in Remembrance to them only, as delivered from 
bondage. Eating with them without becoming a Jew- 
ish subject in all their rites would have meant nothing 
at all, and very little as a proselyted Jew. The same is 
true in the church. Eating without membership in a 
church is nothing. Absolutely nothing! Or, it is an 
empty sham, a pretense ! The Jewish passover was too 
sacred for any but a Jew to eat. The Lord's Supper is 
also too sacred for any but a member, who shows 
Christ's death in memoriam when eating. 

Paul has kindly sent us this message as a question, 



USE OF JUDGMENT. 207 

"What have we to do with them that are without (our 
church) ? 

Must We Not Judge 

them that are within (our church) ?" If this question 
was phrased in modern thought, it might read like 
this: "We must judge our own members that are 
within. It will take all our time to do it right, and 
them that are without we must "Let alone." 

OPEN COMMUNION. 

There is a double judgment by them that are 
without the fold. When they make an open call to 
"All Christians to come and eat," they judge both 
themselves, and us, to be worthy. They also judge a 
Mormon, a Quaker and a Universalist to be unworthy. 
They judge and think for us all, and then turn on us 
in condemnation for our judgment of our own. No 
matter how saintly a Quaker may be he is set aside 
for want of a water baptism and the other two for a 
low standard of religion. In this a judgment is freely 
exercised over other people, as having all the authority 
in judging. 

A brother minister who had kindly listened to the 
arguments for open communion of both Methodist 
and Free Will Baptist, found himself confused. "I 
will go to the fountain head of that doctrine," he said, 
"and at their quarterly meeting next Sunday I will 
hear their presiding elder on open communion. 

After a lengthy sermon, the elder said : "We are 



208 THE LORD'S SUPPER. 

going to take the lord's Supper to-day and we want 
God's children of all denominations to come and kneel 
around the altar and take it with us." "I noticed/' 
said he, in relating the circumstance, "that after the 
preachers got through eating as a select few, that the 
remainder of the audience were called to partake of 
the fragments. That was a revelation and a surprise 
to me, but I held my peace. In that service I saw a 
wheel within a wheel — a communion within a com- 
munion. Preachers ate the Supper among themselves 
as a select circle, and afterwards called up lay mem- 
bers to eat. I also noted that only his members went up. 
They ignored in their call the several preachers, as 
preachers who were in the audience. This made their 
eating as Methodist preachers very seclusive. The 
thing they had preached against ! 

"In the first eating by elder, circuit rider and local 
preachers, no call was made to Baptist, Free Will or 
Mormon preachers who were present. Neither did he 
invite his wife and mother in their select circle. The 
call to eat in the Lower House of Methodism did not 
reach the preachers, because to accept would be to eat 
with Methodist laymen and ignore the ordination given 
them by their own church. Their invitation was in 
effect an open declaration that ministers of other 
churches were equal only to the laity of Methodism in 
grade, and, therefore, could not eat the Lord's Supper 
in the Upper House of Methodism, with Methodist 
ministers I" 

"Preaching and communion next Sunday at the 
Tree Will Church' was announced, and I decided to 
go there, too," said my brother. Very little difference 



OPEN COMMUNION. 2CK) 

in manner of invitations of the Free Will preacher 
and that of the Presiding Elder, and in taking front 
seats, none but their members went up, while the 
Methodists packed the back end of the house. Ah! 
these open communionists don't commune openly." 
Said he : "What is the trouble ?" but he never learned. 
That brother then asked the people to hear him the 
next Sunday on "Restricted Communion." He asked 
the stewards and class leaders and deacons of the Free 
Will Church in his examination of the subject, that if 
in their heart and soul they believed in open commun- 
ion? Yes? Well stand up all of you to say "Yes." They 
stood up. "Now, then, I want to know why none of 
you accepted the others' invitations? I think I can 
prove by you and all the open communionists in the 
house that you don't believe your own doctrine, for I 
see you don't practice it here, and you don't 'Let a 
man judge for himself.' The Mormon Elder there 
says he will hold communion at his church next Sun- 
day. Every one who believes your doctrine £nd will 
prove it by practice, and go with me to the Mormon 
Church, and eat, next Sunday, with them in their 
Lord's Supper, stand up.' Not one arose, and he said : 
"Now I have proved by you, that you don't believe 
your own doctrine. Hush up your rant, it is only a 
bait to catch flies," he exclaimed. Those three ser- 
mons put a hush on the common gossip about Open 
Communion in that settlement. 

How to Measure Christians. 

Baptism is the tape-line by which to measure Chris- 
tians, but it does not measure all of them. Until one 



2IO THE LORD S SUPPER. 

becomes a Baptist, Baptists have nothing by which to 
measure him, nor upon which to base a judgment, 
since baptism is the standard of judgment in Christen- 
dom. 

I love all who love my Father, but I love my Father, 
more. I love all who love my Redeemer, but I love 
my Redeemer more. I would gladly remove every bar 
or hindrance from the path of those who would come 
to the Lord, had I the power. The power is in their 
hands. If they will abuse rather than use the power, 
their own fault-finding ought to cease. Baptists have 
a sacrifice to make in going to them. They would not 
have any to make in coming to the Baptist. 

Doctrines of the Paedo world say : "One church is as 
good as another/' Then, if that doctrine is true, there 
is absolutely nothing in their way to keep them out of 
a Baptist church, where they can eat the Lord's Sup- 
per. Baptists don't say it, because they don't believe 
that any church is like the Baptist, nor as good. They 
think any man climbs up who comes to them and vice 
versa, any man climbs down wlho leaves the Baptists. 

This feast of the church ought to be looked forward 
to as the most welcome day of days. In the tenderest 
words of love, the last night of mortal life, our Blessed 
Savior said : "If ye love Me, keep My commandments." 
That feast is the measure of our love to Christ. It is ^ 
test of our faith in Him. It is a remembrance of Jesus 
till He comes again. 

I, therefore, conclude that absolutely nothing but ex- 
pulsion from church ought to be a bar between the 
saved and his Savior. 



THE LORDS TABLE. 211 

In Conclusion. 

Dr. Wistar Hamilton makes a fine summary of the 
subject in this volume. 

1. Open Communion is Unscriptural. 

"It is the Lord's table, and for that very reason He 
alone has the right to invite or to restrict the invita- 
tion. If it were "Our Table," then we could extend 
the invitation as we might desire and ask all Christians 
to come. ,, 

Baptists are not alone in not making general invita- 
tions. Episcopalians and Catholics admit none but their 
members to partake with them in the Eucharist. Dis- 
ciples are now teaching close communion, on the score 
that none but their members were baptized with the 
right design. Bishops, elders, circuit stationed and 
local preachers do not commune with their wives and 
children. They first eat, then feed their society mem- 
bers with the remnants, withholding it from their baby 
members— the best they have in their church. That 
is close communion with the bark on it. It may be 
objected that infants are not members, but their Disci- 
pline declares them to be members. 

2. "To those who judge Baptists unkindly or who 
take offense at our position on the Lord's Supper, we 
can only say that we must answer to God for our 
stewardship, and that to refrain from duty here would 
brand us with unfaithfulness. This unfaithfulness 
would make us unworthy of our own self-respect as 
well a*> unworthy the confidence of others. This arti- 



212 THE LORD S SUPPER. 

cle, then, is written to defend the truth, and not to 
offend the truth-seeker ; for, in holding to the "restric- 
tions" placed upon communion we are defending the 
'faith once for all delivered to the saints.' Since we 
are to 'keep the ordinances as delivered' (I. Cor. 11:2), 
we must do whatsoever God has commanded us, if we 
would prove ourselves His friends. (John 15:14). 
If there be a cross, it must be taken up and borne 
(Matt. 16:24), and if we permit earthly ties, even 
those of father, mother, wife, children, brother or sis- 
ter, to come between us and our duty, the Savior says 
we can not be His disciples. (Luke 14:26). 

"It can be easily shown that all denominations are 
with us in holding to the fact that God has placed re- 
strictions upon His 'Table/ and that it is the duty of 
Christians to recognize them. 

"Not to obey is to say that the Lord has made a mis- 
take in His commandments. If we must declare to 
man that repentance and faith are pre-requisites to 
baptism, must we not also declare the pre-requisites to 
communion? When this declaration has been made, 
we have discharged our duty, and the responsibility 
is upon those who come. 

"Baptists do not stand alone here. It is right to 
enforce restrictions such as God lays down. 

3. "As to self-examination. 'Let a man examine 
himself, and so let him eat/ (I. Cor. 11:28; II. Cor.13 : 
5). The Bible urges this in addition to all other restric- 
tions. God has given us but two ordinances, and these 
set forth the two great facts of the gospel — an 'illus- 
trated creed/ Just as loving children gather about some 
little token, the reminder of a departed mother, so we 



EVIL RESULTS. 21 3 

do this in remembrance of Him, examining our hearts 
to know if in it we see His work of love for us. Being 
conscientious does not make a brother right. Says 
Dr. Alexander : 'We are responsible for our ignorance 
of the truth/ 'He who is under fundamental error 
is in a sad dilemma. Do what he will, he sins,. If he 
disobey conscience, he knowingly sins, doing what he 
believes to be wrong; and a man never can be justified 
for doing what he believes to be wrong, even though 
it should turn out to be right. And if he obey con- 
science, performing an act which is in itself wrong, 
he sins; because he complies not with the law under 
which he is placed/ However, this to us is not incon- 
sistent with respect and love for others. That I love 
my own mother is no reason why I should hate and 
speak evil of yours. On the contrary, if I failed to 
do what God has commanded me, I should be in sin. 
We warn men to repent and believe before baptism; 
so should we declare the restrictions here, and not sin 
by inviting people indiscriminately to the table. 

"After all, to practice unrestricted communion not 
only fails to bring good, but actually results in evil, as 
may be easily shown from the practice in England. It 
surrenders our protest against an unregenerated 
church membership by recognizing as a Christian him 
who in infancy is 'received into Christ's holy church 
and made a lively member of the same/ (Discipline, 
page 258, 1891, M. E. Church, South). Thus turn- 
ing the world into the church produces lax discipline. 
Much of her power and purity is lost, and loose disci- 
pline means loose doctrine. Then from loose disci- 
pline and loose doctrine is but a step to loose moials. 



214 THE LORD'S SUPPER. 

4. "As to elements. On this Protestants are practi- 
cally agreed. (I. Cor. 11:23:8:. ; Matt. 26:26; Mark 
14:22; Luke 22:19). Would it not be just as proper 
to use milk instead of wine, as to change any other 
part of the ordinance? The discussion as to 'juice of 
the grape' or 'fermented wine' is an attempt to be 
exact in the observance of the Supper, and we should 
be just as eager to do the right thing in all the com- 
mands concerning it. 

5. "As to motive. But there are again very diverse 
views, and strong reasons for the stand taken by the 
Baptists. Again we are set for the defense of the 
truth, and enter our solemn protest against 'transub- 
stantiation' as held by Romanists, leading as it does 
to gross superstition and downright idolatry; against 
'consubstantiation,' or 'real presence/ as held by Luth- 
eran teaching that the communicant receives 'in a 
corporal sense the actual body and blood of Christ in, 
under, and with the elements' (Harvey) ; against the 
'mystical presence,' as held by Presbyterians, teaching, 
as one stated it, that 'our souls are fed by the flesh and 
blood of Christ, just as our bodily life is nourished by 
bread and wine'; 'we are truly made partakers of the 
proper substance of the body and blood of Jesus' ; 
against the doctrine that the Supper is of itself a 
means of grace,' as held by Episcopalians, Methodists, 
and others. Were Luther and Calvin and Zwingli 
right in withdrawing from the 'transubstantiation' idea 
and protesting against it ? Then, are we wrong when, 
standing upon the Word, we say it is not even to be 
a social meal (I. Cor. 11 :22), but is to show! forth the 
Lord's death (Matt. 26 126 ; Mark 14 :22 ; Luke 22 :ig)„ 



MORAL LIFE. 215 

and is to be done 'in remembrance of him. I. Cor. 
11:25; 11:2; 15:3). 

6. "As to moral life. 'But now I have written unto 
you not to keep company, if any man that is called a 
brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or 
a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner with such an 
one no not to eat/ (I. Cor. 5:11 cf Matt. 18:15 if., 
Gal. 1 7; Titus 3:10). The danger is that we will be 
more particular about heresy than about immorality. 
But, though we may overlook this, the communicants 
do not, and that is why so many of them leave when 
the table is spread. 

7. "As to divisions. The Bible is explicit in con- 
demning divisions around the table. (I. Cor. II :i7ff.) 
We are commanded, as seen above (Rom. 16:17), to 
turn away from those who cause such since, if there 
be occasion for this reproof, we are not really observ- 
ing the Lord's Supper. (I. Cor. 11:30.) External 
professions of union amount to nothing, if the facts 
be to the contrary. To come to the table professing 
that there are no differences, and still maintain our 
separate organization, is to proclaim one thing and 
live another. If there be no divisions, then let us be 
one. But if our views be different, there is no use 
proclaiming otherwise. If the faction in the church 
is displeasing to God, surely even it has grown to be 
large enough to become a separate denomination, it is 
no more in accordance with His desires. 

" 'Giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit 
in the bond of peace. There is one body (the church 
body), and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in 
one hope of your calling ; one Lord, one faith, one bap- 



21 6 THE LORD'S SUPPER. 

tism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and 
through all, and in all/ — Eph. 4:3-6. 

" 'For as the body (human body) is one, and hath 
many members, and all the members of the body, being 
many, are one body, so also is Christ. For in one 
Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether 
Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all 
made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one 
member, but many. And if they were all one member, 
where were the body ? But now there are many mem- 
bers, but one body. Now ye are the body of Christ, 
and severally members thereof." — I. Cor. 12:12, 13, 19, 

20, 2J. 

8. "As to believers. It seems unnecessary to men- 
tion this, and yet it must be emphasized, for some 
churches receive into their fellowship those who have 
not believed. Surely no one but a believer can 'do 
this in remembrance' of Him, and it seems strange that 
any one else should wish to do so. Always, in Scrip- 
ture, those who partook were believers. 

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." 
(Mark 16:16). Only believers, or professed believers, 
were present at the institution of the Supper. (Matt. 
26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19). In Acts 20:7 we 
are told that 'the Disciples came together to break 
bread/ and in Jesus' great command He says first to 
make disciples, then to baptize, and after this to teach 
them to observe all things (Matt. 28:18-20). If we 
throw open the doors and fail to declare this, we are 
doing violence to God's Word.* 

* That command also admits to the table only those who 
were preached to, baptized and taught. 



BAPTISM BEFORE COMMUNION. 217 

9. "As to baptized believers. This, as has already 
been stated, is held by all Christians in theory, the ques- 
tion being, What is baptism? Here Dr. Cornelius 
Tyree has made arguments impregnable. ('Close 
Communion/ Salem, Va., 1887.) The word for sprinkle 
(rantizo) is used sixty-two times in the New Tes- 
tament; the word for pour (ekkeo), 152 times; the 
word for wash (louo), 139 times. The word for im- 
merse (baptizo) is used in the same sentence with these 
and where distinctions are made in these ideas; yet 
in not a single case has any but baptizo been used 
where baptism was spoken of. (See, the Greek of 
Acts 16:33 and elsewhere.) In every case where com- 
munion is referred to, or where it may possibly have 
been administered, the believers had been baptized. 
(Acts 2:42; 4:17; 8:12; 35-38; 10:47; i6:i4f; 18:8; 
20:7; I. Cor. 13, etc.) Baptism comes before com- 
munion, just as repentance and faith should precede 
baptism. 

We find in all the other denominations, that their 
requirements are baptism (as they practice it), church 
membership, conversion and orderly walk. 

"The 'New York Observer/ perhaps the leading 
Presbyterian paper of the world, says: 'It is not want 
of charity which compels the Baptist to restrict his 
invitation. He has no hesitation in admitting the per- 
sonal piety of his unimmersed brethern. Presbyte- 
rians do not invite the unbaptized, however pious they 
may be. It is not uncharitable.' 

"This position is largely the position of Lutheran, 
Congregational, Episcopalian and Methodist churches. 
Mr. Wesley says in his Journal, Vol. 1, page 466, in 



2l8 THE LORD'S SUPPER. 

regard to a case in question : 'And yet this very man, 
when I was in Savannah, did I refuse to admit to the 
Lord's Table, because he was not baptized by a man 
who had been Episcopally ordained.' 

''Our Methodist friends are even closer than we are, 
for their ministry do not commune with the laity, and 
many of their own members (the infants) are ex- 
cluded. 

The usual practice in Baptist churches is to pass the 
elements to all the church, then the deacons return to 
the pastor, who takes the platter and gives to the dea- 
cons. Last of all the deacons give the bread and wine 
to the pastor. 

"Belief and baptism mark the first steps in the Chris- 
tian life, and the Bible never in a single instance gives 
the Supper before baptism. We are first born again, 
and then going down into the water in outward pro- 
fession of this inward possession, we come up to walk 
in the newness of life, and in this new life is found 
the Supper. This very order is significant, but let us 
not leave God's Word. 'When ye come together in 
the church,' (I. Cor. n :i8), does not mean the church 
building, for they had none, and ekklesla is never so 
used. The Lord's Supper is a church ordinance, ana 
anything which goes beyond or comes short of this 
fails for want of Scripture. 

10. "Baptized believers in church capacity. Here 
surely not an accident. (Rom. 6:$ii ; Col. 2:12; Gal. 
3-26.) 

"The Pan-Presbyterian Council of 1880, at Phila- 
delphia, refused to take the Lord's Supper together, 
because they believed it to be a church ordinance, and 



MlUST BE OF ONE MIND. 219 

that only those should partake who are subject to dis- 
cipline. Our brethren of this denomination require 
also that the administrator shall be ordained a minister 
of the Presbyterian church. 

nth. "How clear and solemn is the injunction: 
'Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from 
every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after 
the tradition which they have received of us\ (II. 
Thess. 3:6 R. V.) Then to commune together is to 
have the same doctrine. (I. John 1 13 ; Col. 2:5 ; I. Cor. 
11:2; II. Thess, 2:15; II. John 1:11; Rev. 2:i4ff; 
I. Cor. 10:17.) 'Now I beseech you, brethren, mark 
them which are causing divisions and occasions of 
stumbling contrary to the doctrine which ye have 
learned, aud turn away from them/ (Rom. 16:17 R. 
V.; cf. I. Cor. 1:10; Amos 3:3.) 

"If men walk not after the tradition which the Word 
gives (II. Thess. 3:6) then we have not the same 
doctrine, and are commanded to withdraw ourselves. 
'For whatsoever is not of faith is sin/ (Rom. 14: 

23-) 

"It is pitiable for us to declare that our beliefs are 
one at the 'Table/ and then continue our separate 
church existence in order to maintain the difference 
in our faith. 

12. " 'Apostles' doctrine and in fellowship/' (Acts 
2: 4 f.) 

"God's commands are not to be neglected by us from 
mere sentiment. We may be charged with lack of 
courtesy and brotherly love; yet those who chide 
would lose respect for us, if we chose our own feelings 



220 THE LORD'S SUPPER. 

or the feelings of others rather than the command of 
God. He who loves anything more than his Lord is 
not worthy of Him. The New Testament is our all- 
sufficient guide. We must not permit ourselves to be 
guided by feelings, or opinion, or sentiment. These 
will not stand as excuses for disobedience. 'We have 
no such custom, neither the churches of God/ is our 
only reply. The fact that brethren see differently and 
are conscientious is no reason why I should do vio- 
lence to my conscience; for on this same ground I 
should invite the Buddhist, the Braham, the Taoist, the 
Mohammedan, the Romanist, and perhaps the atheist. 
Every man must answer for himself, and we must do 
what we believe to be right. 

"Discipline and the withdrawal of fellowship at 
once deprive of communion. What does this mean, if 
not that those who partake are in fellowship, church 
fellowship? Without unity, communion is impossi- 
ble. In I. Cor. ii 117-20, we are told that if we come to 
the table with divisions existing among us that 'it is 
not possible to eat the Lord's Supper/ (Amer. Rev.) 
So that a local church with factions among the mem- 
bers may observe what they call the Supper, but God 
does not recognize nor approve. 'The cup of blessing 
which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood 
of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the 
communion of the body of Christ? For we being 
many are one bread, and one body ; for we are all par- 
takers of that one bread/ (I. Cor. 10:16, 17.) 

"Here we have the one loaf, the one body, the 
church, and the many members united. If an unre- 
stricted communion is practiced, the excluded mem- 



NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE. 221 

ber has only to unite with some other denomination 
and then come to be welcomed/ 

Here again we find another restriction laid down by 
the Word of God. Those who partook "continued 
steadfastly in the apostles' 'doctrine." (Acts 2:2.) 

"Latitudinarianism must find its justification, if it 
can, elsewhere than in the teaching of the New Testa- 
ment. 

THE INSTITUTION OF THE LOBD'S SUPPEB AS 
TAUGHT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and 
blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, 
and said, Take, eat ; this is my body. And he took the 
cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, 
Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new 
testament, which is shed for many for the remission 
of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink hence- 
forth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I 
drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. And 
when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the 
Mount of Olives." (Matt. 26:26-30.) "And as they 
did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and 
gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. 
And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, 
he gave it to them: and they drank of it. And he 
said unto them, This is my blood of the new testa- 
ment, which is shed for many. Verily I say unto you, 
I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that 
day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God." (Mark 
14:22-25) "And they continued steadfastly in the apos- 



222 THE LORD S SUPPER. 

ties' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, 
and in prayers." (Acts 2:42.) "But now I have writ- 
ten unto you not to keep company, if any man that is 
called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an 
idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner ; 
with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to 
do to judge them also that are without? do not ye 
judge them that are within? But them that are with- 
out God judgeth," (I. Cor. 5:11-13.) "Now in 
this that I declare unto you I praise you not, 
that ye come together not for the better, but for the 
worse. For first of all, when ye come together in the 
church, I hear that there be divisions among you ; and I 
partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among 
you, that they which are approved may be made mani- 
fest among you. When ye come together therefore 
into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. 
For in eating every one taketh before other his own 
supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 
What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or 
despise ye the church of God, and shame them that 
have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise 
you in this? I praise you not. For I have received 
of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That 
the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was be- 
trayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, 
he brake it, and said, Take, eat ; this is my body, which 
is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 
After the same manner also he took the cup, when 
he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament 
in my blood ; this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remem- 
brance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and 



EATING AND DRINKING UNWORTHILY. 223 

drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he 
come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and 
drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty 
of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man 
examine himself, and so let his eat of that bread, and 
drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh 
unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, 
not discerning the Lord's body." (I. Cor. 11:17-29.) 
Examine yourself whether ye be in the faith. — II. Cor. 

13:5. 



BOOK FOUR 



MINISTRY OF THE CHURCH. 

"Preach The Word. * * * Neglect not the gift that is in 
thee, given thee by prophecy with the laying on of the hands 
of the Presbytery." — Paul. 



KZEKIEL 33: 2-6 AND ACTS 20: 27,28. 

"Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say 
unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people 
of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their 
watchman : If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, 
he blow the trumpet and warn the people; Then whosoever 
heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if 
the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon 
his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took 
not warning ; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh 
warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see 
the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people 
be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from 
among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood 
will I require at the watchman's hand/' 

"For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the coun- 
sel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to 
all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you 
overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased 
with his own blood/* 



THE PREACHER. 



However exalted or degraded a system of religion 
may be, it is incomplete until it is crested with a min- 
istry. The higher the plane of a church in its service, 
the more exalted and dignified will be its ministry. 
Deacons, clerks or secretaries, and committees, are 
among the ministers of the church. 

There is ever a person and an incident to originate 
everything that exists. . And the "Gospel of Jesus 
Christ'* is not an exception. It was introduced to the 
world by John the Baptist when he began "preaching 
in the wilderness of Judea." Mark 1:1-3. The third 
chapter of Matthew's gospel shows the minutest detail 
of the foundation principles as followed up by John. 
There must be a voluntary "going out to John's bap- 
tism, hearing his preaching, repenting and bringing 
forth fruit," that proves a repentance and faith, and a 
voluntary calling for baptism of John. 

John's models and baptism "were from heaven" 
and were God's order of procedure for all the days that 
were to follow. A strict compliance was exacted of all 
who "went unto John's baptism," "all who refused to 
follow John's order of things," rejected the counsel 
of God against themselves." Luke 7:30. 

When Jesus, as the son of Mary, came as all other 
Jews were required to do, it seems that John stood 
ready to make an exception and change the order of 
things, but Jesus would not permit it. He gave, as 
God's son, an example that should never be broken. 



228 THE PREACHER. 

Jesus was presenting Hrst his human side to John, and 
He like John and all preachers of the kingdom must 
come in the kingdom under the laws of the kingdom 
in order that "all righteousness" should be maintained 
in every particular item of the kingdom of heaven! 

New things, new orders, new ordinances, for a new 
kingdom so radically different from the old Theocratic 
Kingdom of the Jews, that even a microscopic view of 
them both will not reveal any similarity or connec- 
tion relating them together. Men have declared that 
John's and Christ's work were a continuation of the 
Abrahamic Covenant, and the law of Moses; and, yet 
they offer no proof beyond their bold assertions. If 
their statements are true, why discontinue circumcision 
and the daily sacrifice of oxen? 

Men have also expressed doubts as to what element 
was used in Baptizing Christ, whether it was oil or 
water. Why then did Jesus go to John for baptism 
when "John was sent to baptize with water" only. 

"All Aaronic priests under Moses' law must be 
washed and anointed with oil as a preparatory service 
before entering upon their duties as a priest." 

True enough. A priest who would enter the High 
priests office, must have his "body washed in the 
brazen laver, in the courts of the temple, in Jeru- 
salem. Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan. 
Priests must be mitred and robed in sacerdotal gar- 
ments, belted and shielded with a breast-plate contain- 
ing twelve precious stones, after his washing. Noth- 
ing like this ceremony obtained at Christ's baptism. 
He must then be anointed with oil. No oil was put on 
Christ after his baptism, which place was about twenty- 



CHRIST S PRIESTHOOD. 229 

one miles from Jerusalem. After these ceremonies 
the new priest must slay an offering and offer it on 
the altar of burnt offerings. Jesus did nothing of 
that sort of service. 

No man could be put into the priest's office if not a 
son of Aaron of the tribe of Levi. Jesus was the 
Lion of the tribe of Judah. I wonder why those good 
men did not read up on these facts before saying what 
we fail to find on the pages of Holy Writ ! For a full, 
clear statement see Leviticus 8, and the references and 
marginal readings thereunto! 

Jesus could not be conducted nor inducted into an 
office which He had forever filled. "He was a priest 
of the Most High God after the order of Melchisedec 
and not after the order of Aaron. Levitical priests 
slaughtered animals among men for men, and burnt 
them with fire to destroy sin. Christ never rendered 
such service, as that was not the order of Melchisedec. 

David said in Psalm 110:4, "The Lord hath sworn 
and will not repent. Thou art a priest forever after 
the order of Melchisedec." 

As to Christ's priesthood it was not a mortal office 
to be filled in mortal life — if a prophet saw him plainly 
with reference to His earthly mortal service. 
Zechariah 6:12-13 tells what it was to be. He said: 
"Speak unto Him saying, Behold the man whose 
name is the BRANCH, and he shall grow up out of his 
place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord; and 
even he shall build the temple of the Lord ; and he shall 
bear the glory and shall sit and rule upon his throne, 
and he shall be a priest upon his throne." So it is not 
exactly clear to us on earth, just what is his priestly 



23O THE PREACHER. 

service in full to-day. As king, priest, and mediator 
between God and man, He is spoken of. 

Paul recites David to us in Psalm no in several 
places — Hebrews 5:6; 6:20 and 7:17, and says "For 
this Melchisedec, King of Salem, Priest of the Most 
High God, who met Abraham returning from the 
slaughter of kings and blessed him; to whom also 
Abraham gave a tenth part of all ; first being by inter- 
pretation king of righteousness (Melchisedec is de- 
fined as king of righteousness) and after that also 
K ; !.g of Salem which is king of peace. (Christ is 
King of Peace to a saved soul) ; without father, with- 
out mother, without descent (into the priestly office), 
or pedigree in his priestly office, having neither the 
beginning of days or end of life (Levitical priests 
had both), but made like unto the Son of God, 
abideth a priest continually (but the Levitical priest 
could not serve but twenty years). 

These are clear and unmistakable definitions "made 
by Paul and given by inspiration of God," and con- 
sequently they can not be wrong. If, then, "Having 
neither the beginning of days nor end of life" applies 
to Jesus in his priesthood, his baptism plays no part 
with him in putting him into his office. 

Let us read carefully as history, all 14th chapter 
In verse 17 we find that it was the king of Sodom 
of Genesis, noting the statement in vefrses 17-24. 
who went to meet Abraham returning from the 
slaughter of the kings. Verse 2 says his name was 
Bera. Bera was his family name, or more properly 
said, a name given him by his father in childhood. 
Salem means peace, and Melchisedec in being King of 



MELCHISEDEC. 23 1 

Salem, it made him "king of peace by interpretation." 
Bera, in verse 18, is called Melchizedek, which is only 
his official name. Two towns, Sodom and Salem, are 
mentioned, and a different name of their king is shown 
at each place, without showing why — king only in 
Sodom, both king and priest in Salem. The narrative 
is not as clear as one might desire to have it. 

"Without father [in the flesh] ; without mother" 
[in the church] is said of Christ in the sense of having 
no genealogical father or mother. Melchisedec was 
bound to have both, but no genealogy says who they 
were. Before there was a Confederacy of the Southern 
States, there was a Jefferson Davis. When the Con- 
federacy was founded Mr. Davis was made its Presi- 
dent. There was no lineal descent into the presidency. 
The Confederacy was destroyed, but Mr. Davis wias 
not. So without a beginning of days in the Confederacy 
or end of time with it, there was a Jeff Davis. No 
one can say the same is not true of Bera as king of 
Sodom. One thing is true, his name is suddenly 
flashed to view; and as suddenly he disappears, with- 
out giving the date of his birth or death. In that 
fact may we say that he was without beginning of 
days or end of time as to a recorded statement. 

Jesus was like Melchisedec in one thing — He had 
no earthly father or church mother from which to be- 
gin his earthly life. A sudden appearance and disap- 
pearance of Melchisedec as a priest left him a priest 
forever as to the record. Jesus was flashed in as a priest 
(Psalm 110:4) before he was visible, and now like 
Melchisedec abides an invisible priest forever. "For it 
is evident our Lord sprang out of Judah, of which 
tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood." 



23 2 THE PREACHER. 

For comparison we may say : 

Bera was a given name. 

Jesus was a given name. 

Melchisedec was a revealed name. 

"Christ the Lord" was a revealed name. 

The double name of both was given by inspiration 
and revelation. Melchisedec means priest of the 
Most High God; Jesus Christ means the "anointed 
Savior/' 

* * * * 

The Levitical priests were born and then inducted 
into office. 

Jesus was a priest before his birth and could not 
be inducted into office. 

Levitical priests could not remain in the priest- 
hood "by reason of death." 

Jesus entered into his priesthood by death, and 
"abideth a priest forever." 

Levitical priests were sons of Aaron. 
Christ was the Son of God. 

Levitical priesthood was earthly. 

Christ's priesthood is heavenly. 

Levitical priesthood was infirm. 
, "Christ helpeth our infirmities." 

Levitical priesthood dealt with men after a natural 
birth. 

Christ's priesthood gives a new birth. 



233 

RELATION OF PREACHERS TO THE 
CHURCH. 

God, in his goodness, gave us the best gift in his 
hand. Jesus Christ as Savior was first and best. 
Preachers as his substitutes in preaching are second 
best. Hand-in-hand with the ministry comes the 
church. Through the church and ministry as a me- 
dium, salvation is sent as the fourth gift. 

Every congregation must be considered an incom- 
plete body when without a preacher. 

Jesus makes "hearing" the starting point in a man's 
salvation, and the preacher lies back of the hearing. 
"How shall they hear without a preacher?" The com- 
mission requires the "preaching" and the "hearing." 
"Preach the gospel to every creature, teaching them 
to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded 
you" (to do). To preachers are assigned, then, two 
duties : causing to hear ; causing to believe. 

"How then shall they call on him in whom they 
have not believed? and how shall they believe in him 
of whom they have not heard? and how shall they 
hear without a preacher ? And how shall they preach, 
except they be sent? as it is written, "How beautiful 
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, 
and bring glad tidings of good things V So then faith 
cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." 
(Rom. 10:14, 15, 17.) 

Two classes of people have made deliverance against 
that quotation, one of which said : "I can take my Bible 
and learn my duty to God, and be holy to Him, with- 
out which I can not see Him." Another class said: 



234 THE PREACHER. . 

"If a preacher must in any way be connected in my 
salvation or instrumental in my arrival at heaven's 
gate, I don't want to go there." 

God has finished his plan of salvation and put it 
in the hands of his church for execution as His agent 
or instrument by which to reach the people and bring 
them to himself. I will take four out of several 
instances to illustrate, which I think shows the 
fallacy of those two classes. In these four instances 
God has refused absolutely to come between the 
preacher and his duty. Cornelius had no Bible. God 
listened to him and let his "alms come up as a me- 
morial before Him." An angel was sent to tell Cor- 
nelius to send and get a — Bible? No — a preacher I 
See how explicit the instruction: 'His surname is 
Peter." He is in the house of Simon, a tanner, 
whose house is by the seaside in the city of Joppa." In 
fewer words the angel could have said, "Repent 
towards God; have faith in Jesus Christ, and let me 
baptize you," if God would have allowed his own plans 
to be broken. The Holy Spirit fell on that man. Thus 
will it be for all time to come, as that was a model 
by which all the Gentile world must be brought to God. 

Take another man. He is in a journey going 
1 200 miles away from where God had planted the 
preachers for their first labor. Very thoughtfully 
the traveler wias reading his copy of Isaiah's prophecy 
about Christ. An angel and the Holy Spirit both 
played an important part in that Jew's future life. 
Philip, a preacher, was deep in a revival service in 
Samaria. An angel came to him saying, "Arise and 
go towards the south unto the way that goeth down 



THE HELP OF PREACHERS. 235 

from Jerusalem unto Gaza which is desert." Almost 
with him in point of time, a Jewish eunuch who had 
charge of Queen Candace's treasury arrived, on his 
return to his capital in Ethiopia, after his annual trip 
to Jerusalem to worship as all Jews had a right to do. 
The Holy Spirit said to Philip: "Go near and join 
thyself to this chariot." Philip, after listening to the 
traveler, read the Hebrew prophet, as he walked 
along beside the chariot, in gentle tones asked : 
"Understandest thou what thou readest?" In great 
surprise the traveler looked up at Philip and ex- 
claimed : "How can I except some man guide me?" 
This man with a Bible without the "guiding man" — 
preacher — to "begin at the same Scripture to preach 
unto him Jesus," and salvation in His name could not 
understand his Bible. Apollos, who was mighty in 
the Scriptures, needed Aquila and Priscilla to "teach 
him the way of the Lord more perfectly," to remove 
defects in his preaching. 

Again, Jesus met Paul personally by the wayside 
and smote him with blindness. Paul was brought up 
at the feet of the wisest man in all the law. Here is 
a man with a Bible in hand having a perfect human 
knowledge of it. But his knowledge was worth 
nothing at all to him before Jesus. In piteous plead- 
ing of helplessness, he cried out, "What wilt thou have 
me do ?" — a confession of his ignorance of what to do. 
His knowledge of the Bible was unavailing. Jesus re- 
fused to tell him "what to do, honoring his own law ; 
but sent him to a preacher, in Damascus, to get the in- 
formation for which he cried. 

In these cases the preacher was sent to the sinner. 



236 preacher's assignment. 

Thus the law was honored, and not broken. Sal- 
vation resulted; and it would be that way with us to- 
day if we obeyed God's law. 



OFFICES OF THE PREACHER. 



First — see Matthew's and Mark's commission and 
read them into one statement. 

"But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he 
is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before 
the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel." 
Acts 9 : 15. 

"By whom we have received grace and apostle- 
ship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, 
for his name." Rom. 1 15. 

"For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: 
but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is 
committed unto me." I. Cor. 9:17. 

"But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel 
of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the 
gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter" Gal. 2\J, 

"That in the dispensation of the fulness of times 
he might gather together in one all things in Christ, 
both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; 
even in him." Eph. 1 : 10. 

"If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace 
of God which is given me to you-ward : how that by 
revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as 



AMBASSADORS. 237 

I wrote afore in few words; whereby, when you read, 
ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of 
Christ,) which in other ages was not made known 
unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his 
holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the 
Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, 
and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel. " 
Eph. 3 : 2-7. 

"But the other of love, knowing that I am set 
for the defense of the gospel." Phil. I : 15-18. 

"Whereof I am made a minister, according to the 
dispensation of God which is given to me for you, 
to fulfill the word of God." Col. 1 : 25. 

The preacher is an ambassador, through whom 
God entreats the world. 

"For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and 
they should seek the law of his mouth : for he is the 
messenger of the Lord of hosts." Mai. 2 : 7. 

"Who also hath made us able ministers of the 
new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit; 
for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." 
II. Cor. 3 :6. 

"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as 
though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in 
Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." II. Cor. 

5 '20. 

"For which I am an ambassador in bonds; that 
therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." 
Eph. 6 : 20. 



238 

THE CALL TO THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 
The Preacher. 

If the law and its observance were "a shadow of 
things to come ,, (Col. 2 :iy; Heb. 8 :$), then the 
Levitical ministry was "a shadow" of the ministry of 
the gospel. Aaron and his descendants were to be the 
only priests, and they "fore-shadowed" Jesus, as the 
priesthood was not to depart from him on whom it 
was bestowed. Exod. 28. 

The manner of calling and setting apart of preachers 
in New Testament times is on record, showing that 
the Holy Spirit calls the preacher, and then calls the 
church to do the ordaining and sending in Christ's 
stead, as the "body of Christ." John 15:16; Acts 
13:1-3; I. Cor. 12:28; Acts 2:4, and 19:2-6; Deut. 
34 :g; Luke 12 : 13. 

Fasting, prayer and laying on of hands was part 
of that ceremony, II. Cor. 1:11; I. Tim. 4:14. 
Preachers must be ordained witnesses of Jesus. Acts 
1 : 22. There must be no haste in ordaining a "novice" 
or a preacher admitted to our faith. I. Tim. 5 :22 ; 
3 = 1-6. 

The preacher is the center of church activity, with 
out which it would soon cease to exist. It is quite a 
struggle in some instances to live with all that the 
preacher can do. We will now look at the law as 
it relates to the call of the minister. I will give sev- 
eral Scriptural references, the reader can study them 
at will. Ex. 11:12; 4:10; 31:12; Num. 3:12, 13; 
I. Kings 19:9-14; Isa. 6:6-11 ; 49:1-7; 51 :i6; Amos 7: 



CALL OF A PREACHER. 239 

14-16; Zech. 8:16, 17; Matt. 4:18-22; 28-20; Mark 
i : 16-20; Luke 1 :i5, 16; John 1 :6, 7 and 15; Mark 3 
:i3, 14; Acts 9-23-31; 26:16-23; Gal. 1:15, 16; Eph. 
1:4, 5; 3:7-12; II. Tim. 1:9; II. Cor. 5:18-20; 
Titus 1:5; Acts 13:1-3. 

To the preacher is given the ministry of reconcilia- 
tion. II. Cor. 5:18. 

Receiving or rejecting them is accepted by our Lord 
as though it were done unto Himself. 

"He that receiveth you receiveth Me, and he that 
receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent Me. He that 
receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall 
receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a 
righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall 
receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever 
shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup 
of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I 
say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward." 
Matt. 10:40-42. 

"He^that heareth you heareth Me; and he that de- 
spiseth you despiseth Me, and he that despiseth Me, 
despiseth Him that sent Me; Luke 10:16. 

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth 
whomsoever I send receiveth Me, and he that receiv- 
eth Me receiveth Him that sent Me." John 13:20. 

Beacons. 

They that have used the office of a deacon well, 
purchase to themselves a good degree, and great bold- 
ness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. Paul. 

Preachers and Deacons are the only officers in a 



240 DEACONS. 

church to be filled by ordained men. "Howell on 
The Deaconship" is the best discussion on the sub- 
ject that has come my way. Judas seems to have been 
a deacon or a treasurer for the Apostles, and "carried 
the bag." 

The need and origin of deacons is stated in Acts 
6. It was an office created by the church, at request 
of the Apostles. They were to assume the financial 
responsibility, which had been in Apostles' hands to 
that time. The Disciples had sold out their lands and 
houses and had brought the money and laid it down 
at the Apostles' feet. Dispensing that fund had taken 
up part of their time from preaching the Word. Look- 
ing after such deacons is a lesson many of our preach- 
ers might learn to-day, and put all their time in serving 
God. 

As to their qualifications, Peter said : "Wherefore, 
brethren, look ye out among yourselves seven men of 
honest report, full of the Holy Ghost, and wisdom, 
whom we may appoint over this business. But we 

WILL GIVE OURSELVES CONTINUALLY TO PRAYER AND 

to the ministry of the Word." So the primary 
qualifications of deacons were Honesty, Wisdom, 
Spiritual-life," financial and executive ability. 

To this high standard of Peter, Paul gave others 
in I. Timothy 3 :8-i2. A church may enlarge these 
duties of a deacon as her sphere has enlarged under 
her activity. No church can ordain a deacon for 
service beyond her own jurisdiction, and she can retire 
him from office when in her judgment it is proper to 
do so just the same as she can retire her pastor and call 
a new one. And she ought to do so when he ceases to 
"use his office well." 



DEACONS. 24I 

It might be wise to notice the difference between the 
call and ordination of a deacon and preacher so far 
as the history is given. 

Preachers were called by the Holy Spirit, who com- 
manded the church to ordain them (Acts 13:1-3) and 
w^cnd them out. The preacher called, upon the church 
to select men whom the preacher could appoint as a 
diakonas — a deacon, a servant unto himself to relieve 
him of part of his duty. Serving tables was one part 
of a preacher's duty that he laid off on his diakonas — 
servant — or deacon. Notice the difference : The Holy 
Spirit called the preacher and called the church to 
ordain him. The preacher called to the church for a 
helper whom he might appoint over a part of his busi- 
ness. Preachers wiere separated — "ordained;" deacons 
were appointed. Preachers were called by the Holy 
Spirit; Deacons were called by a preacher. 

It will appear then from this analysis, that a deacon 
may be appointed to serve during the time the pastor 
serves the church who had called for the help, and when 
that pastor retired from that church that it would 
also retire that deacon. 

Deacons are elective by the church just the same as 
any other officer, or committee, or pastor, and all 
deacons should be elected annually just the same as 
the pastor, or other committees. He is not a king in 
the church to rule for life. In fact, he has no ruling 
power over the church. Only the Holy Ghost and 
His overseers are appointed to that end. 

Sometimes deacons remove their membership to 
other churches. The new church some times acknowl- 
edge and elect him to serve them as a deacon on his 



242 DEACONS. 

previous appointment. Some churches do not. 
Churches exercise a right in this the same as they do 
in any other matter of business. 

A mistake is made sometimes in ordaining preachers 
and deacons. Either one should be promptly relieved 
of office when a church discovers that a blunder has 
been made. Some first-class deacons have been 
spoiled by making fourth-class preachers of them. 

"Deacon" is a translation of Diakonas, which means 
a servant, and churches should be very careful in se- 
lecting a man to fill the office. They ought never to 
break down the scriptural qualifications. No one deacon 
nor all the deacons of a church, have a right to put a 
man in the pulpit nor out of it. That is "business of 
all the church." By a special act of a church, to meet 
a special need, a duty is laid upon them, which could 
as correctly be laid upon any other members for such 
duty. Paul requires that they be married men who 
have "ruled their children and houses well." This 
wiould require that his wife should be a member in the 
church with him, the same as is requited of a preacher. 
As this writer sees the Scripture, neither preacher nor 
deacon is a scriptural officer if not married to a Bap- 
tist wife. All committees and officers are deacons, or 
servants, of a church. All servants shall render a state- 
ment to their church of every item cf business trans- 
acted by them, and have it ratified by the church. It 
was the practice in Apostolic times, and it is not at 
all proper nor safe for any one to omit a recital of all 
business transacted for the church at the first business 
meeting succeeding. Paul and Peter made statements to 



DEACONS. 243 

their churches for approval, telling of their imprison* 
ments and stripes, as well as of their converts or bap- 
tisms, giving the smallest and largest details of every- 
thing. Any man or church is laying a precedent that will 
bring a flood of trouble upon them if they neglect to 
give a perfect statement, or require it of officers and 
committees. Should a committee refuse to report 
their success in the discharge of their duties, the 
church should promptly relieve them of their office. 

The reins of government should not be put entirely, 
nor in part, into the hands of deacons, preachers and 
committees to carry out certain duties or principles 
between the business meetings, without exacting of 
them to make full and complete reports to the next 
regular business meeting of the church. Anything 
coming before the church, when they are assembled, 
must be transacted by the whole church and not by 
deacons, preachers, or committees. 



BOOK FIVE. 



OFFENSES. 
Blessed are the Peacemakers,— Jesus. 



PSALM 15. 

"Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell 
in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh 
righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that 
backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neigh- 
bor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. In 
whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoreth them 
that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and 
changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, 
nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these 
things shall never be moved. Who shall ascend into the hill 
of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that 
hath clean hands, and a pure heart : who hath not lifted up his 
soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the 
blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of 
his salvation." 



£L: 



OFFENSES. 



FIRST PHASE. 

THe reader is asked to take James 3, and Matthew 
18, as a study. It is desired to show that our duty as 
a church is to save, not destroy souls. Christ surely 
had no other purpose in view, or use for a church, 
but to make it an instrument in His hands, under 
the Holy Spirit and the ministry, than to preach, teach, 
live and exemplify a gospel of salvation, as against 
Satan's work of damnation. These pages are intended 
to instruct and help to preserve peace and fellowship 
in the churches, between their members. I have 
found a disposition in man to hinder man in his use- 
fulness, if the slightest difference arises between them. 
Such will magnify, rather than minify faults, and a 
move is made for expulsion and public degradation. 

Our Savior "So loved the world that He gave His 
life a ransom to whosoever believeth in Him." 
When we hinder one from serving Christ, we also hin- 
der Christ. It is a double hindrance. The life of 
Christ was spent in teaching the way, and in leading 
men into this "Kingdom of Heaven." This forceful 
teaching is recorded in the eighteenth chapter of 
Matthew: Christ takes the innocence of a child to 
teach one of the best object lessons He gave. He 
said: "Except ye be converted, and become as little 
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of 
heaven." That teaches us that our old warlike nature 



248 OFFENSES. 

will be changed into the guileless nature of child- 
hood, if we love the kingdom of heaven. We are told 
that "It must needs be that offenses come, but woe 
to the man by whom the offense cometh." Better suf- 
fer from offenses till the judgment day, than to be an 
offender. Christ said something about hands, feet and 
eyes causing offense, which may mean friends. If 
their help forces us to offend, then our duty is to break 
up the friendship. 

In the most earnest tones of command, our 
Savior used these words : "Take heed that ye despise 
not one of these little ones." Whatever the cause of 
grief may be, it must not let us despise the offender. 
The command "despise not" is without limit. No cir- 
cumstance can arise that will let us despise each 
other. Offended feeling may come, but despising 
ought not. Any offense against a brother, whatever 
its magnitude, is small in comparison, as God has the 
same offense charged up as though it was against 
Him only. Read again the verses from twenty-three 
to the end of the chapter. It is here shown that 
man's debt to man in "trespassing against Him" is 
represented in a money-value indebtedness. We can 
all comprehend, when the unknown is made known 
by comparison with things familiar. The highest debt 
we create by an offense against man has a money value 
of $1.50. Some authorities say it is $17.00. The same 
offense against the Heavenly Father is "ten thousand 
talents," or nearly $10,000,000. What a difference! 
And what is more, God has set a time limit to our 
offended feeling. He says : "Be ye angry and sin not. 
Let not the sun go down on your wrath." Not to do 
so makes us "guilty of the whole law." Jas. 2:10. 



OFFENSES. 249 

The Savior also set a limit to the number of times 
we must forgive — seventy times seven. One time the 
Savior said we must forgive seven times a day. That 
meant all the days, and it would reach more than 490 
times. Usually A. settles B's. with a trespass, and 
both are due amends to the other; thus all debts are 
cancelled, and they start out anew. The Lord has 
prescribed the rule to settle offenses, and where the 
rule is observed it will settle offenses with a Christian 
every time — try it and see! The rule is laid down 
in verse fifteen. It says : "Moreover if thy brother 
shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault 
between thee and him alone. ,, Our method usually 
is as divergent from this as we can make it. We tell 
our friends "confidentially," and say, "Don't tell it, for 
your life. I don't want it to get out that I told it, or 
ever repeated it." 

The rule says, as plainly as any rule ever put in 
words can say, "Go tell him his fault between thee and 
him alone." That means that your father must not 
know it, your brother can not help you bear it; even 
the wife of your bosom, who is supposed to share in 
your joys and sorrows, may have no part in bearing the 
"trespass of your brother." It is one thing we should 
bear secretly and alone. It means that it shall be a 
secret as silent as death. "Go tell him his fault be- 
tween thee and him alone !" 

An occasional exception to this rule will occur. In 
such cases we must be as discreet and silent about the 
offense as the nature of the case will permit. 

It is our duty to leave off our worship of God in 
seeking reconciliation as paramount to God's wor- 



2^0 OFFENSES. 

ship. In such cases if we start in God's spirit 
under these rules, a reconciliation will result. If, 
when you find your brother, and he has not "remem- 
bered," and you can not make him "hear thee,' 9 "then," 
the rule says, "take two or three more with thee, that 
every word of the controversy may be established." 
But this is still a secret, and neither one of the four 
is permitted to tell it. Any murderer if a Catholic, 
may confess his crime to a Catholic priest, and that 
priest may be the best or meanest of men, but he never 
would, even under torture, divulge the confession in- 
trusted to him. Is a Christian less trustworthy than a 
Catholic priest? It is so scandalous to be a party in re- 
peating discords. Cultivated people have a feeling of 
horror toward news-mongers and slime-eaters. Such 
things are suited only to the ignorant or vicious. Don't 
forget that all Christians must work* in line with Christ. 
He said : "I came to seek and to save ! It is not the will 
of your Father that one of these little ones should per- 
ish." There was no mission of destruction by Christ 
or the Father, and the church in her work ought to 
reflect both Father and Son and not make hers a work 
of destruction. James 5:19, 20. 

We have had success in church work by having a 
committee on fellowship, to whom attention was called 
if their help was needed. They had been instructed 
to see each one separately, hear their story about the 
offense and deliberate as to what wias right for each 
one to do, report their findings to each party in th« 
offense, and have them accept their decisions. After 
which bring them face to face to ratify their find- 
ings. And when they are brought face to face let the 
trespass be settled without going over all the ground 




OFFENSES. 251 

again. All the good will be spoiled if parties at va- 
riance are allowed to talk when they meet to settle 
offenses. Apologies brief and hearty ought to be 
made and accepted by both, if the offense is to be 
reconciled. 

When there is a difference between more than two 
brethren, the peace committee should proceed as if 
only two were involved. If the case is above their 
own judgment and it should require judicial instruction 
the committee might call to their help such counsel 
as they may need, with the consent of the parties in- 
terested in the case. This counselor should also be 
placed under a pledge of secrecy in the case. God re- 
quires that we keep out of law. I. Cor. 6. 

Should the committee on fellowship fail of settle- 
ment, then the Lord lays down another final step : "Tell 
it to the church." 

When a church is called upon to deliberate on the 
offense, the assembling for that purpose should be made 
a quiet affair. The unconverted world and the "re- 
porter" should neither find room nor welcome in such 
deliberations. At this stage all the church should as- 
semble, if possible, and keep out of their deliberations 
all things that have a semblance of party spirit or of 
political smartness. Fairness to all and fear before 
God, for whom we do business in every trial, must 
characterize these proceedings. If this fails, the 
church will lose her good name with the public. 

Remember that it is the business of the church to save 
her membership, so far as possible. It is God's family 
matter, not the public's. 

It does not belong to the public, and the public 
should know the least about it possible. 



252 OFFENSES. 

When the church is thus quietly assembled for this 
purpose, the committee should make a fair and truth- 
ful report of their findings so that the church may have 
the case rightly presented to guide them in their delib- 
erations. 

Several reasons for quietness may be offered. The 
first and perhaps the greatest is: Every public trial 
amounts to a scandal, and at times hurts the church 
more than it does the party disciplined. It lowers the 
sanctity of the church with the unsaved. It will give a 
club into the hands of the friends ( ?) of the party dis- 
ciplined, which they will use unsparingly. Public 
trials in churches often bring about a division, some- 
times a feud, in the community, and years are spent 
in overcoming it, wherein good service for Christ is 
lost. It humiliates, and often a better man is dis- 
ciplined than one who is sustained in church, and 
the public trial burns the bridge between 
him and the church, making his return impossible. 
We should not lose sight of this fact : A church must 
be a factor with Christ in soul-saving. Take the 
Masons, Odd Fellows — all secret societies — and they 
are not permitted to speak outside about their discip- 
linary measures. This is why their "order" continues 
to grow and be popular. If their disciplinary meet- 
ings were thrown open to the public it would break 
them down with the public on the first public trial. 
THE "PUBLIC" is vulgar and loves a pot of slime. 

Finally, if the offender "will not hear the church" 
the last stage, "Let him be unto thee as a heathen and 
a publican." When the well directed efforts of this 



OFFENSES. 253 

committee are unavailing, they have a last resort to 
insure fairness, and can clean their hands in their re- 
port, when they "tell it to the church." The church 
ought not to make an exhibition of haste, power, or 
temper. It is a most serious matter to deliberate over 
the state of a soul. Her deeds will be found on a 
page of record kept by the recording angel. If this 
man will not "hear the church/' his refusal makes 
him a "heathen and publican, hence, it must mean 
that the church shall excommunicate him. 

It is possible that, in some cases a church may 
be influenced by party spirit and do a great wrong to 
an individual, to the public and to themselves, in some 
hasty action. This may be caused by public influence 
over them, about which the public should not have 
been a party. 

Excommunications ought to be made in such tender- 
ness to the erring that the church could go to work to 
secure restoration of her excluded members when it is 
possible to restore them. If men at variance will ac- 
cept such a course, expensive lawsuits will be averted. 
When men go to law before the courts in the land, men 
will in the end be the arbitrators, as they would have 
been at iirst in the church, and without cost, if it is 
settled by the church. Wise men can see that an arbi- 
tration without cost in money is better than one bought 
by money. 

Christ said : "What woman having ten pieces of sil- 
ver, if she lose one doth not light a candle and search 
diligently for it till she finds it?" The church, is the 
"woman," and the "piece of silver" is her lost mem- 
ber for which she must search. That piece of silver 



2$4 OFFENSES. 

was her silver, her currency, and she needs it. It was 
her duty to light the candle and search for it; so is 
it the church's duty to seek her lost members "till she 
find them." That piece of silver was worth a copper 
cent,* but it is money all the same, and it shows the 
value of members in the church, which she can't af- 
ford to lose. The "ten pieces" is her full member- 
ship, all of whom she needs, however small in value. 

* The "drachma" is rated at seventeen cents United States 
currency. One authority thought it was the Jewish tribute 
shekel of fifty-one cents, which every Jew after twenty-one 
years old had to pay to the temple. Silver is the representa- 
tive standard of true Christian character. Mai. 3 : 3. Return 
of the Prodigal Son shows the thanksgiving — which ought to 
be had on his return to the church. 



OFFENDER. 

SECOND PHASE. 

There are two parties in all discords, and God works 
with both. The other end of the offense takes up the 
thread this way: "When thou bringest thy gift to the 
altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath 
aught against thee, leave "there thy gift before the altar 
and go thy way ; first be reconciled to thy brother, and 
then come and offer thy gift." This act hangs on 
"remember (ing) that thy brother hath aught against 
thee." How small that aught is, we are not prepared 
to say. 

Aught is a translation of Oudeis. Its meaning is 
given in Matt. 5 -.23, as : "Not even one thing." Also 
in Matt. 21 :3. The same word is rendered: "Any one 
thing" in Mark 7:12; Acts 4:32 and 28:19; Phil. 1 :i8. 
(See Young's Analytic Concordance.) 



OFFENSES. 255 

The Christ, dying by the hands of sinners, prayed 
for them. He illustrated the doctrine of forgiveness 
by showing how to do it while it was in process. 
Stephen also made it plain by praying for those who 
were in the act of stoning him to death. 

But remember, the Christ made reconciliation, or an 
attempt at reconciliation the very highest duty of a 
Christian. All other things are to be laid aside until an 
effort to be reconciled has succeeded or failed. 

When these steps according to the Gospel have been 
followed out and the case settled, the churches should 
see to it that each one keeps his part of the contract 
in the settlement, and that they are not permitted to 
talk it after. Either one breaking any part of the 
terms of settlement should be promptly disciplined on 
several complaints. Three will be named : "Disturb- 
ance of church fellowship," disturbance of the pub- 
lic peace," and "falsehood in breaking a pledge." 

We are confronted at times with a statement like 
this : "My mind is not a box into which things are put 
and then removed at pleasure. It is an organ that 
retains.- I can forgive, but can't forget, and shall be 
mad every time I think of the affair." 

Tell us if you can tell, What is th<\ good of a farce 
in peace-making, if you "intend to be mad every time 
you think of the affair?" Try the Lord's Prayer on 
your statement, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive 
others their trespasses against us," and then see just 
under the prayer how Christ explains that clause for 
what you are praying. "If ye forgive not men their 
trespasses against you, neither will our Father which 
is in heaven, forgive you your trespasses." By the 



256 OFFENSES. 

terms in the Lord's Prayer He makes us ask to be for- 
given only to the extent in which we forgive others. 
Christ on the cross made it plain how to do it. "Father, 
forgive them, they know not what they do/' he 
pleaded. If, then, we do not forgive men, we in 
reality ask God to forgive us our trespasses against 
him.* 

* Christ's rule to the offender is imperative. It makes 
him earnestly desire to be forgiven and then upon his recol- 
lection of his deed as a source of possible offense cease his 
worship and all other duties that an immediate reconciliation 
may be sought. If he starts on his mission in the spirit 
of peace, peace is sure to result, and the matter should be 
at peace forever. 

"After the death of Jacob, his surviving sons, who 
had treated their now distinguished brother, Joseph, 
wrongfully, expected punishment in return. But the 
memorable patriarch and father, before he died, had 
enjoined upon Joseph conciliatory treatment; and after 
the burial of the aged father, the brothers met in the 
presence of their brother, Joseph, and interposed a 
touching plea, in abatement of expected punishment. 
Joseph hears their plea, and exclaims, "Am I God?" 
This pertinent reply takes in a broad sweep of wisdom. 
There were some things connected with their remem- 
bered action that passed the limitation of human for- 
giveness; matters that need to be personally referred 
to the ministration of divine mercy ; matters that called 
for reconciling forces beyond the range of human grace 
and power. Joseph was right in his reply. The wrong 
they had done him personally, he could freely blot out, 
but beyond this a dark blot had come upon their human- 
ity, a snapping of kindred bonds — a wicked intrusion 



OFFENSES. 257 

into the sacred relationship between man and his 
Creator, which could only be cured by divine pardon." 
— Southern Baptist. 

There may come things in our way like that in 
Joseph's case that is too large for us to embrace in 
order to forgive it. The perpetrator may feel him- 
self too great to offer a retraction or conciliatory apol- 
ogy for his deed. Egotism in some people is so great, 
that, when it is taken out of them, there is not enough 
of them left to make an apology. 

There may also be a stinging sin against you so 
small that it may not be grasped. It may in a way 
be more hurtful to your heart than even the greatest 
sin. And yet be so small that you nor anyone else 
could see how to remove it to restore good fellowship, 
but in either case our Savior calls for an effort at 
reconciliation, and for the Master's sake we should try. 



PUBLIC OFFENSES. 

Thou shalt not go zvith a multitude to do evil. — 
Moses. 

All offenses are public in a degree, while some are 
narrowed in their scope to a difference between two 
persons. "Public offenses" are more or less an out- 
rage against the peace and morals of the community. 

God made the first law against such in these words : 
"Thou shalt not bear false witness." Exod. 20:16. 
It seems that a large per cent, of people accept that as 
bearing testimony in a court of magistracy. This pen 



258 OFFENSES. 

would say all of our words are witnessing, and it is not 
required to be in court to violate the law. 'Thou 
shalt not go with a multitude to do evil, nor raise a 
false report/' Exod. 23:1-2. These precepts are 
surely too plain to need comment. It might be en- 
larged by showing how a multitude could grow from 
the false report of one man through his influence upon 
each man who comes along. See Deut. 19:15; II. Cor. 
13:1 ; Heb. 10:28. 

These refer in a general way; church people may 
get into it by becoming "busybodies in other people's 
affairs/' which would have been better if they were 
not so entangled. 

There is a grade of sins that refers to God's children 
when in error and when for want of employment they 
take up the management of another's business. The 
Psalmist well describes the righteous when he says : 
"Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? who shall 
dwell in Thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly 
and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in 
his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, 
nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a re- 
proach against his neighbor. In whose eyes a vile 
person is contemned ; but he honoreth them that fear 
the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt and 
changeth not." When this artillery hits us hard, it is 
because we have forgotten that part of our church 
covenant which says : "We will not backbite each 
other." There is a violation of this Psalm along the 
line that will be a wonderful revelation at "That day." 
It would tax our credulity if we knew all the people 
guilty and the amount of sin recorded in heaven for 



OFFENSES. 259 

its violation. How many men of a thousand would 
"Swear to his own hurt" at this day? Men are now 
saying : "Hurt him or he will hurt you !" 

If Preachers or Deacons should be under the disci- 
pline of the church, they should have a treatment co- 
ordinate with their ordination in public. A church 
will not ordain them, without ministerial help, and 
fairness all around will call for the same kind of help 
when they are to be disciplined. 

It would enhance the cause of Christ if prayer and 
fasting be observed before their case is up in judgment. 
The most conservative peace loving members from at 
least three churches, who are slow to rush up, or ad- 
vise expulsion, should be called as an advisory council. 
Expulsion should not be the uppermost thought in 
dealing with offenses only when no other course is 
open. 

There is a close relation between the Old Testament 
prophets and New Testament preachers. Two places, 
I. Chronicles 16:22 and Psalm 105:15, say: "Touch 
not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm." In 
Jeremiah 11 :i8-23 we learn that the men of Anathoth 
were in conspiracy against the prophet to kill him. 
God, for their sin, said: "Therefore, saith the Lord 
of Hosts, 'Behold I will punish them; the young men 
shall die by the sword ; their sons and their daughters 
shall die by the famine ; and there shall be no remnant 
of them, for I will bring evil upon the men of Ana- 
thoth." A righteous man in God's eye was under fire 
in that case. He was evil in man's eye, hence the 
persecution. God does not always see man guilty as 
men see him. And again, man may condone when 
God will condemn. 



26o OFFENSES. 

Those prophets may have appeared as monsters of 
evil to those people who slayed them, but Christ con- 
demned the slaying. The people were blinded who 
slayed them, and doubtless much of the persecutions 
of the present day are blindness. 

Forty-two children were destroyed by two she bears 
for no less crime than saying to one of God's proph- 
ets, "Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head." 

The law governing the church with reference to 
ministers given in Timothy 5:1, says: "Rebuke not an 
elder, but entreat him as a father." Verses 17-19, 
"Let the elders, that rule well be counted worthy of 
double honor, especially they who labor in the word 
and doctrine." "Against an elder receive not an 
accusation but before two or three witnesses." "Thou 
shalt rise up before the hoary head and honor the face 
of the old man and fear thy God. I am the Lord." 
Lev. 19 132. Elders are to be counted worthy of dou- 
ble honor. They are not to be rebuked. They are not 
to be accused with fewer than two or three witnesses 
who are to be brought face-to-face against them. 
Sorry the day in which we live! These God-given 
laws to protect His ministers are not always given the 
respect God intended they should have. It is not in- 
tended to carry the idea that a minister may not be 
expelled from the church for no cause. There are 
some crimes of which, if ministers are guilty, they 
like other men must go. 

Sometimes God's ministers have their names handed 
around with slime on them, and people are made afraid 
</f them as "dangerous and as suspicious characters," 
and the only men at large who ought to be in stripes 






OFFENSES. 26l 

at the coal mines. Men of doubtful character be- 
come offended with a minister, who is faithful to Jesus 
and exposed certain sins. He feels that his pastor 
has made a personal thrust at him. Vengeance burns 
in his heart, and soon he comes bringing a long list of 
complaints against his pastor. His soul is on fire 
with hatred to his pastor, in return for the good his 
pastor intended. His abuse becomes violent, and is 
shaped so as to ruin his pastor's name. His excuse 
for his conduct is made about this way : "We have en- 
joyed always these liberties which he condemns. Our 
protection of self demands that we be careful. We 
have been imposed upon by impure men in the minis- 
try. We must learn something of his private life in 
the past which we can use to break down his influence 
against our past customs/' 

To do such thing is mean. If it is practiced 
by a church, or if a church should let a member go 
unrebuked for doing such an authorized thing, it 
would have on the face of it this effect: "We are a 
weak organization who are not able to protect our- 
selves, and we are afraid of others. Some churches 
take up the role of preacher-killing. We know of 
three churches having had experience in such. A his- 
tory of one would very nearly be a history of the other 
two, and they are not on the roll of churches to-day. 
Only one member of the first lives to tell its story. 

Jesus saw these three churches and all others of their 
kind. He spoke of them and told us about their work. 
His prophecy of those three churches is put on record 
in Mark 12:1-9. 

It is either a rightful claim or a vain boast that "A 



262 OFFENSES. 

Baptist Church is the highest authority under heaven !" 
That claim to an evil, suspicious mind, is true or false. 
It depends on the nature of the case. Church letters 
and commending resolutions to a parting pastor are 
vile forgeries in a — new field, say — and private letters 
are written back to his old, home to private parties, in- 
quiring into his past life. In return something like the 
following self-explanatory letter may be sent in re- 
turn with ruinous results to some poor victim, dis- 
counting him among his peers and inferiors in his 
new field of labor: 

To the King of Philistia : 

His Royal Highness Abimelech. 

My Brother— Ashmead with his caravansary from 
Cairo en route to Damascus spent several days at He- 
bron. From his mouth I have learned that one Abraham 
had pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar. It seemed 
good unto me to acquaint thee about him. Some 
years ago he came into my borders under the name 
of Abram, which he claims was changed by his gods 
to Abraham. He first lived in the city of Ur. Then 
he removed several hundred miles north to Charan, 
from whence he came into my kingdom. He said 
his God had led him here, promising "to give unto him 
and his seed forever all the land of Canaan." His life 
has been nomadic since coming, giving trouble to all 
the herdsmen, whithersoever he goeth. He brought 
with him Lot, his brother's son, and finally broke the 
peace between Lot and himself and had to seek new 
pastures. Lot is now the honored High Duke of Sod- 
om. I felt some apprehension about him and was 



OFFENSES. . 263 

glad when he departed out of my coasts, as he was an 
undesirable citizen. You may have similar discords 
with him if he is allowed to abide in thy dominions. 
Ashmead relates that at one time he was sojourning in 
Egypt, where he denied his wife and brought much 
trouble to Pharaoh. I commanded this epistle to be 
written and sent to you, a brother monarch and re- 
mote kinsman, because of the relation and friendship 
which exists between us, as a duty I owe thee. 

Very cordially, the son of your father's brother, 
Abineroth, King of Hebron. 

Any one at all familiar with Genesis can see that 
truth and error abound, with the truth hidden by the 
virus in that letter. Letters similar can be used now 
to the detriment of God's servants. Don't listen to 
such. When you want truth, bring accuser face to 
face with the accused. Hear each state his case or 
refuse to entertain complaints. The Golden Rule 
would do good service here if men with earnest hearts 
would let it apply. 

If something more modern is wanted, take the life 
of Paul. It is up-to-date and surpassing the trials of 
Abraham. 



HEROIC MEASURES. 

Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. — 
Paul. 

In the Spirit of Christ, churches should act promptly 
in cases of discipline, as directed in the Bible. 

Public offenses are scandalous sins — such as adul- 



264 . OFFENSES. 

tery, heresy, disorderly walk, etc. — and come imme- 
diately under the authority of the church. 

I. Cor. 5:11, 13. — But now I have written unto you 
not to keep company, if any man that is called a 
brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or 
a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such 
an one no not to eat . . . Therefore, put away 
from among yourselves that wicked person. 

I. Tim. 6 13-5. — If any man teach otherwise, and con- 
sent not to wholesome words, even the words of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine, which is ac- 
cording to godliness: He is proud, knowing nothing, 
but doting about questions and strifes of words, 
whereof cometh envy, strife, evil surmisings, perverse 
disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of 
the truth, supposing that gain is godliness ; from such 
withdraw thyself. 

II. Tim. 3 :i-5 — This know also, that in the last days 
perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of 
their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphe- 
mers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. With- 
out natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, in- 
continent, fierce, despisers of those that are good. 
Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more 
than lovers of God ; having a form of godliness, but 
denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 

I. Cor. s 7-8 — Purge out therefore the old leaven, 
that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For 
even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: There- 
fore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither 
with the leaven of malice and wickedness ; but with the 
unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 



OFFENSES. 265 

So there must be no old leaven of known sin in the 
church when ishe sets the Lord's Supper. 

Titus 3:10-11. — A man that is an heretic after the 
first and second admonition reject; knowing he that is 
such is subverted and sinneth being condemned of 
himself. 

Rom. 15 :i7, 18. — Now I beseech you brethren, mark 
them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to 
the doctrines which ye have received, and avoid them. 
For they that are such serve not the Lord Jesus Christ, 
but their own belly ; and by good words and fair speech 
deceive the hearts of the simple. 

II. Thess. 3:6. — Now we command you, brethren, in 
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw 
yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, 
and not after the tradition that he received from us. 

Restoration may take place when the offender has 
repented and the church is vindicated. 

II. Cor. 5 15. — To deliver such an one to Satan for 
the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved 
in the day of the Lord Jesus. 

Church work should be directed under God by the 
ministry of the Spirit in soul-saving, as is taught in 
the following Scriptures: Prov. 17:10-11; Matt. 18: 
10-14; Luke 17:3-4; II. Cor. 2:6-8; Rom. 14:1; James 
5:19-20. 

Acts 2:42, 46. — And they continued stedfastly in 
the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking 
of bread, and in prayers. And they, continuing daily 
with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread 
from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness 
and singleness of heart. 



266 OFFENSES. 

Heb. 10:25. — Not forsaking the assembling of our- 
selves together, as the manner of some is ; but exhort- 
ing one another : and so much the more, as ye see the 
day approaching. 

Some churches claim that a violation of an observ- 
ance of these three verses is a good and sufficient 
reason for the expulsion of a member. One violating 
these is not in "fellowship" — is causing divisions and 
offenses contrary to the doctrine received, and of such 
a church is commanded to "withdraw thyself." Re- 
member that promptness in doing things should be the 
order in every church in carrying out God's commands. 



BOOK SIX. 



DISCIPLINARY. 

Let all things be done decently and in order. 
Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. — Paul. 



PSALM 133. 



Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to 
dwell together in unity! 

It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran 
down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down 
to the skirts of his garments. 

As the dew of Hermon, mid as the dew that descended 
upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded 
the blessing, even life for evermore. 



DISCIPLINAKY. 



BUSINESS MEETING. 
section i. 

Business or Conference Meetings are Author- 
ized, as may be seen by these excerpts from 

APOSTOLIC CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 

BY ELDER BEN M. BOGARD. 

What is Baptist Church Government? A Baptist 
church is a pure Democracy. Each congregation is 
an independent body, with its own officers, and execu- 
ting the laws given to it by Christ, the great Law-giver, 
with no organic connection with any other body or con- 
gregation. Nor is there any higher ecclesiastical au- 
thority than the local congregation. The officers of 
a Baptist church are bishops and deacons. A bishop 
is the pastor; a deacon is a servant of the church in 
temporal things. There may be, and frequently is, a 
plurality of bishops, or pastors, as well as of deacons. 
Neither office is absolutely necessary to the being of a 
church, but both are necessary to its wellbeing. These 
local, independent congregations may, and generally 
do, associate with another in executing the work given 
to each one as an individual body. Under the direc- 
tion of the Holy Spirit and the New Testament, each 
church decides for itself who shall be in its member- 
ship, by a vote, and the congregation by vote deter- 



27O CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 

mines who shall be retained in its fellowship. The 
local congregation also ordains and sets apart for the 
work of the ministry all who are previously called by 
the Holy Spirit. To the local congregation is com- 
mitted the ordinances, viz., Baptism and the Lord's 
Supper, and Baptist do not recognize these ordinances 
as valid, unless administered by authority of a local 
congregation of baptized believers. 

The foregoing is a brief statement of Baptist 
Church Government. 

Di»u the Lord Jesus give any instructions concern- 
ing Church Government? Some say He did not. The 
Scriptures are plain on this question. We read in 
Acts 1 : 3-8, that "He showed Himself alive after His 
passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them 
forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to 
the kingdom of God; and being assembled together 
with them, commanded that they should not depart 
from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the 
Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me, * * 
* and ye shall be witnesses unto Me, both in Jeru- 
salem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the 
uttermost part of the earth/' 

Jesus taught in Matt. 18 : 15-17, that the church 
was large enough to attend to its own affairs, and 
small enough to be in one place. The highest au- 
thority recognized here is the church, and the church 
is small enough to be spoken to. "Tell it to the 
church.'' 

The Savior gave some instruction concerning the 
government of the churches before His death and 
resurrection, and after His resurrection He spent 



CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 2 h /\ 

"forty days, speaking of the things pertaining to the 
kingdom of God." Then, it is certain that the 
Disciples knew how the Lord wanted the affairs ot 
the kingdom conducted. Let us also remember, that 
the Apostles were constantly under the guidance of 
the Holy Spirit, and if they were to forget the instruc- 
tion of the Lord Jesus, the Spirit would remind them 
of it. 

It is a fact that the Apostles and all the early dis- 
ciples worked in perfect harmony. There was no di- 
vision of sentiment as to the plans or methods. If 
the Lord had left them to their own judgment about 
the management of the affairs of the churches, there 
would have been different opinions about what was 
best and different plans and methods would have been 
operated. 

i. The church in Jerusalem was a Democracy. 
Every member had a voice in its affairs, and the busi- 
ness of the church was submitted to the whole body. 
Acts i : 1 5-26 gives an account of the election of a 
successor to Judas : "And Peter stood up in the 
midst of the disciples and said : * * * * where- 
fore of these men which have companied with us all 
the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among 
us, beginning from the baptism of John until that same 
day He was taken up from us, must one be ordained to 
be a witness with us of His resurrection. " Was not 
this a Democracy? The democracy of this first 
church, which Jesus Himself organized, is apparent. 
Did Peter get a few of the disciples into some room 
to themselves and propose the election of a successor to 
Judas? No. He "stood up in the midst of the dis- 



2^2 CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 

ciples." The matter was laid before the whole body, 
and then two were put in nomination, viz., Joseph and 
Matthias. After this, prayer was offered : "Thou 
Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show 
whether of these two Thou hast chosen/' Thus they 
asked Divine guidance, "and they gave forth their lots ; 
and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered 
with the eleven apostles." 

The democracy of the Jerusalem church is seen 
again in Acts 6:1-6. In this instance it is an election 
of deacons to look after the "serving of the tables" 
or charity work of the church. "Then the twelve 
called the multitude of the disciples unto them and said, 
It is not reason that we should leave the Word of 
God and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye 
out among you seven men of honest report, full of the 
Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over 
this business." Thus the whole "multitude of the 
disciples," were called together. The whole multi- 
tude was told to look out seven men who would be 
suitable for the office of deacon. "And the saying 
pleased the whole multitude : and they chose Stephen," 
etc. 

2. Each congregation of Christians, in Apostolic 
times, was not only a Democracy, but it was a sepa- 
rate, independent church, with no organic connection 
with any other congregation. We not only read of the 
"church in Jerusalem," (Acts 11 '.22), but of the 
"churches throught all Judea and Galilee and Sama- 
ria." (Acts 9 :ji.) Also we read of "the Church 
of God, which is at Corinth." (I. Cor. 1 :2; II. Cor. 
1:1.) Again we read of the "churches" of Galatia, 



CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 273 

(Gal. I :2.) The "seven churches of Asia." (Rev. 
1:4.) We might go on at great length, but the fore- 
going will suffice. Each congregation was regarded 
as an independent church — not as a part of the church, 
but as a church itself, full and complete. 

3. Each congregation was under obligation to en- 
gage in benevolent and missionary operations. Acts 
1 1 129, 30 gives us an account of the church at Antioch 
sending relief to the famine-stricken brethren of Judea. 
"Every man according to his ability/' contributed to- 
ward this benevolent work "and sent it to the elders by 
the hands of Barnabas and Saul." Not only was this 
Antioch church a benevolent church, but under the 
direction of the Holy Spirit they sent out Barnabas 
and Saul as foreign missionaries. Acts 13:1-3. "Now 
there was in the church that was at Antioch certain 
teachers and -prophets * * * as they ministered 
unto the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said : Sepa- 
rate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I 
have called them. And when they had fasted and 
prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them 
away." There is a local, independent democratic 
congregation which, under the direction of the Spirit, 
sent out two missionaries. 

4. These _ independent, democratic congregations 
associated with each other and helped each other in 
the great work committed to them. Paul tells us in II. 
Cor. 11 :8 that he "took wages" of other churches while 
he labored in Corinth as missionary. The churches 
stood together — associated together in the great work 
of missions. One church sent its contribution to him 
by the hand of Epaphroditus when Paul was in Thes- 



274 CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 

salonica (Phil. 4:15-19). That the New Testament 
churches associated is evident from the record found in 
the fifteenth chapter of Acts. There were certain men 
who came to Antioch and taught that the Gentiles 
ought to be circumcised. A number of messengers 
were sent to the church in Jerusalem to get the advice 
of the Mother Church. As a result of this association 
it was agreed that tke Gentiles need not be circum- 
cised. The Jerusalem church sent messengers to 
Antioch to meet with the church and report that it was 
the judgment of the church in Jerusalem that the 
Gentiles need not conform to the ceremonies of the 
Jews. (Acts 15:1-35.) Here is an instance of regu- 
larly elected messengers of one church meeting with 
a sister church to confer about a matter of vital im- 
portance. It was an Association. 

5. Each congregation administered its own disci- 
pline. The church at Corinth was instructed by Paul 
to exclude the man who had married his father's wife. 
(I. Cor. 5 :i~5.) They were to do this "when ye (they) 
are gathered together," etc. "Purge out the old 
leaven that ye may be a new lump," etc. The church 
took his advice and turned the man out of the church. 
We are told in IT. Cor. 2:6, that the punishment was 
"inflicted of the many," or majority. 

6. The officers of a church are bishops and deacons. 
There are no higher officers spoken of in the New 
Testament, and there are none lower. A bishop is a 
pastor, and nothing more, and a deacon is a servant of 
the church in temporal things. Paul addresses the 
"saints in Jesus Christ which are at Philippi with the 
bishops and deacons," and thus makes the church 



CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 275 

greater and more important than both bishops and 
deacons put together, by addressing the church as the 
primary duty, and thus the bishops and deacons as a 
secondary consideration. (Phil, i :i.) In the margin 
of our ordinary Bibles the word "bishop" is rendered 
"overseer." That is the meaning of the word always. 
It is clear that the Apostle recognizes only two officers, 
viz., that of "bishops and deacons." There was a 
plurality of both in Philippi as is sometimes the case 
in large churches among Baptists to this day. 

7. The expediency of having a church clerk was 
common in Apostolic times. Any expediency adopted 
by the Apostolic churches may be adopted by churches 
of to-day. Acts 15:23-29, records a letter written by 
the church in Jerusalem to the church at Antioch. 
Some one had to do this writing, and whoever did it 
was evidently selected to do it. It was clerical work 
and therefore the one who did it was a church clerk. 
Again we read that the "brethren wrote exhorting" 
the Disciples in Achaia to receive Apollos. This 
was a church letter of recommendation. Somebody 
had to do this clerical work for the church, and who- 
ever did it was a church clerk. (Acts 18:24-28.) 
Paul instructed the church at Corinth to write letters 
approving certain brethren : "Whomsoever ye may ap- 
prove with your letters, them will I send to bring your 
liberality to Jerusalem." (I. Cor. 16:3). If they car- 
ried out his instruction the church had these letters 
written, and whoever did this writing for the church 
was evidently the clerk of the Church in Corinth. 

8. Each congregation by vote called its own pastor 
and determined who should become members of the 



270 CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 

church. Acts 14:23. "And when they had ordained 
them elders in every church, and had prayed with fast- 
ing, they commended them to the Lord." According 
to the best authority, the Greek literally means : "And 
when they had elected elders in every church by a show 
of the hands." To say the least of it, by some means 
the churches had chosen certain of their number to 
the office of pastor, whether done by a "show of the 
hands" or riot, and the Apostles simply laid hands on 
them. (See studies in the Book of Acts by R. E. 
Speer. Also SchafFs Apostolic Church.) 

When Peter went to preach to Cornelius, to his 
surprise the Holy Spirit came unto them. Seeing that 
they were converted, and blessed with the gift of the 
Spirit, he said : "Can any man forbid water, that these 
should not be baptized, which have received the Holy 
Spirit as well as we ?" This was asking for the opinion 
of the six men who came with him from Joppa. No 
objection being raised to the baptism of these new con- 
verts, he baptized them. (Acts 10:44-48.) 

When Paul went up to Jerusalem after he had been 
converted and been baptized "he assayed to join him- 
self to the disciples." He wanted to become a mem- 
ber of the church in Jerusalem. "But they were all 
afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. 
But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apos- 
tles, and declared unto them how he had seen the 
Lord in the way, and that he had spoke to him, and 
how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name 
of Jesus." Thus it is seen that the church at first re- 
fused to receive Paul into fellowship, believing him 
to be an impostor, and Barnabas had to vouch for him 



CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 2>ft 

and relate his history and experience before they would 
accept him into the church. After that he was with 
them coming in and going out at Jerusalem." (Acts 
9:26-28). How did the disciples go about rejecting 
Paul? They evidently did it by giving expression to 
their opinion in some way. If they did this, they 
voted. After they were convinced by Barnabas that 
Paul was sincere, how did they reverse their first de- 
cision? They could in no way do ft except by each 
one in some way expressing his opinion, viz. : by vo- 
ting. 

Then we see by the Scriptures that the apostolic 
churches elected their own pastors and determined who 
should become members with them. 

9. Prayer meetings (Acts 12:5-12), Protracted 
meetings (Acts 11:25-26) and Bible teaching or Sun- 
day-schools (I. Cor. 12:27-29) were common in the 
apostolic churches. The "teacher" was a recognized 
function in the apostolic churches. If there were 
"teachers," they evidently taught somebody, and it 
matters little about when or where they taught, it was 
to all intents and purposes a Sunday-school. 

10. The ordinances, Baptism and the Lord's Supper 
have been committed to the local congregation and are 
not valid except when administered by the authority of 
a local body of baptized believers. I. Cor. 11:22. 
"Keep the ordinances as I have delivered them unto 
you." Remember this Epistle was addressed to a local 
congregation. 



278 CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 

SECTION II. 

OF CHURCH LETTERS. 

"There are some very tender and intimate relations 
existing between the members of a Baptist church. 
Some of these relations are specifically set forth in the 
New Testament Church Directory. And there are 
others equally sacred, that are embodied, and flow out 
of the ethical principle of the Christian religion. The 
spirit of fellowship pervading the membership of a 
Baptist church takes a broader sweep of vision of mu- 
tual obligation and the sacredness of spiritual unity 
than is revealed in a statement of a more formal Creed. 

While a unity of religious conviction is essentially a 
primary element of church fellowship, still, members 
of a Baptist church may meet on common ground as 
to their religious convictions, and still be far apart in 
those higher ethics of Christian character that form the 
bond of unity and church fellowship. It some times 
happens that a brother or sister startles a congregation 
by requesting a letter of dismission without assigning 
a reason for their demand. He admits that he has no 
purpose of leaving the community or uniting with any 
other denomination. And he claims a letter upon the 
fact that no charges have been alleged against him, 
and he must be in good standing. His case, brought 
down to the last analysis is this, he is out of harmony 
with the members associated with in church relation- 
ship. His request is a fatal stab at the ethical law in- 
terwoven in woof and filling of church life and his 
letter should not be granted/' — Elder J. B. Holley. 



CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 279 

The present method of granting letters of dismis- 
sion to members has come to us from our forefathers. 
It is a source of trouble, and a growing evil, to grant 
a simple letter not directed to another church, with a 
time limit upon the face of it. When letters are limited 
and not used before the limit expires, the letter is dead 
by limitation, and the party stands in the same relation 
as before granting the letter. Permission was given 
to do something in a limited time, he failed to use 
the permit, and must renew it in order to use it, or 
remain in the same church. 

In apostolic times, letters were given from one 
church direct to another. No trouble could grow out 
of that custom. We should return to it. 

There is one or two receipts for men and money 
found in Paul's writing. The first letter I find on 
record was given to Apollos, and is a model letter to a 
preacher from one church to another. Acts 18:27; 
Rom. 16:1. A letter was given to Phebe, a deaconess 
of the church at Corinth, directed to the church at 
Rome. Tychicus was given a letter from Rome to 
Ephesus. He was a preacher. Ephesians, 6:21-22; 
I. Cor. 16:16-18; Phil. 2:29; Col. 4:10. This plan, if 
used would give entire satisfaction to-day. 

If churches will not return to this rule, then the 
following method is suggested: 

1. Letters are mere introductions to other churches 
and belong to them as private property, and should be 
delivered at the very earliest possible date as any other 
private letter or personal property would be to an 
individual. The letter to the other church is only 
trusted in your care temporarily, for a given time. 



28o CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 

2. Any members in good standing and full fellow- 
ship are entitled to a letter of dismission only when they 
"want to unite with another church of the same faith 
and order/' 

3. Letters to lay down in a trunk can not be granted, 
as a trunk is not a church. Letters are only permits to 
unite with another Baptist Church. They are not a 
severance of membership until used as directed upon 
the face of the letter. Any letter more than a year old, 
should be renewed before it is used. 

4. Letters granted are null and void when not used, 
after three months. Any letter used to unite with a 
church not of the "same faith" should be recalled by 
the church granting it, and the party using it expelled 
for heresy. 

5. If a letter is called for every member should an- 
swer the call. If any object the church should require 
the objector to state his reasons. The church must sit 
in judgment on the case and decide what must be done 
to quiet the objections. Fellowship should be re- 
stored in all cases before letters are granted. 

6. If preachers or deacons are thus challenged, 
council from two or more churches shall be called and 
deacons and preachers shall be called as a part of that 
council. The council shall meet from day to day 
consecutively until harmony is restored, or the guilty 
party expelled. When one is a candidate for member- 
ship in a church, whether by baptism or by letter, their 
reception must be by unanimous acclaim. One not 
giving consent may be required to state a reason, and 
the church must then set about effecting good fellow- 
ship between the two and then admit the candidate. 



CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 28l 

In all cases the judgment should be fair in the sight 
of the Lord, and Christians will not be hard to satisfy, 
nor slow in offering satisfaction, as may be adjudged 
by the church. Stubbornness is a vice needing disci- 
pline. 

SECTION III. 

RULES OF DECORUM. 

1. The church conference meetings shall be opened 
and closed with prayer. 

2. The pastor shall preside at all meetings as mod- 
erator, and it shall be his duty to preserve order and 
to perform such other duties as belong to the chair 
of an executive officer. 

3. In the absence of the pastor the secretary shall 
call the meeting to order, when a moderator pro tern, 
shall be elected by the members present. 

4. All business shall be introduced before the con- 
ference by a motion and second. 

5. When a motion is made the one making it shall 
rise and address the chair under the title "Brother 
Moderator." 

6. All business coming before the conference for 
consideration shall be decided by a majority vote of 
the members present, and no action of the conference 
shall be reconsidered, except by a motion and second 
of two who voted in the affirmative. 

7. No one shall be allowed to speak more than twice 
on any one subject without permission of the chair. 

8. In talking to or about each other during the con- 
ference the title brother and sister shall be used. 



282 CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 

9. This church shall meet regularly once each month 
and at such time as may be designated by the church 
for the transacting of any and all business pertaining 
to her affairs. 

10. Call meetings of the conference may be had at 
any time for the transacting of any business, except 
the calling of a pastor, or the consideration of matters 
pertaining to the pastor and the discipline of the 
church. These matters must be transacted in regular 
conference meeting. A meeting may be called by the 
secretary after public notice has been given in the 
church. 

11. No new business shall come before a called con- 
ference except such as made that session needful. A 
majority of the whole church shall be a quorum to at- 
tend to such new business or in cases of discipline; 
but one-fourth of the membership shall be a quorum 
in ordinary matters. 

12. When disciplinary measures are necessary, one 
month's notice thereof must be given, and the secre- 
tary shall give written notice to each member involved, 
stating the complaint filed against them, and shall re- 
quest them to meet the one filing charges face to face 
in the conference. 

13. Cases of discipline shall be as little known to 
the public as possible, and any member repeating the 
findings to any other than members, shall be considered 
guilty of a misdemeanor, and subject to a reprimand, 
unless the case be a flagrant violation of morals, which 
was committed in public. 



CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 283 

14. The majority shall rule in all cases, but in such 
as touch fellowship, unanimity must prevail then as far 
as possible. 

15. It shall be the duty of all members to attend the 
conference meetings as far as it is possible to do so; 
and it shall be the duty of all present to vote on all 
questions as in their judgment seem best. But the 
vote of the majority present shall be the voice of this 
church, and such vote can be reconsidered only when 
a motion is made for it by one who voted with the 
majority. 

16. Election of all officers, standing committees, 
teachers in the Sunday-school and the "Board of Dea- 
cons," shall be at the meeting in January. 



SECTION IV. 

RULES OF ORDER. 

1. The duties of members to themselves are, the ac- 
quisition of Scriptural knowledge, constant progress in 
spirituality, consistency of external conduct, and the 
control and uprooting of every unholy temper. 

2. It is the duty of members to honor, esteem and 
love their pastor, to pray for him fervently and daily, 
to assist him in the spiritual exercise of his official 
authority, to attend constantly upon his ministrations, 
to manifest Christian regard for his reputation, and to 
contribute to his support in proportion to their ability. 

3. It is the duty of each member to cultivate and 
cherish brotherly love for all other members of the 



284 CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 

church, and to show this love by using all proper 
measures to promote their spiritual welfare and pros- 
perity. 

4. Toward those who are not connected with the 
church, it is the duty of members to be exact in ful- 
filling obligations and performing promises, and as 
opportunity may enable us to commend the Gospel of 
Jesus Christ our Lord to them. 

5. When members move away permanently they are 
expected to call for letters of dismission, provided 
there is any regular Baptist Church at their new place 
of residence, otherwise they are to keep in touch with 
the church by correspondence with the clerk and treas- 
urer on matters of their Christian conduct and busi- 
ness relations to the church. Removal from the church 
does not release ones financial obligations until they 
unite with another church. 

6. Members who fail in so doing shall be notified 
by the Clerk to call for their letters, and to inform 
them that unless they are heard from in three months* 
time their names will be dropped from the roll, the 
church considering them as non-affiliate. 

7. There shall be a committee to look after strangers 
and visitors and invite them to the church. 

8. There shall be a committee to look after the poor 
and sick and call attention to their needs. 

9. Reports of committees shall be in writing, handed 
to the pastor, when not very brief, and such reports 
shall be read to the church by him. 

10. The church shall have committees on Ways and 
Means, Discipline, Visiting, Looking up Visitors to 
the Community, State Missions, Home Missions, For- 



CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 285 

eign Missions, Indigent Ministers, Education, Orphan- 
age, Communion, Strangers Now Living Near. 

section v. 

PUBLIC WORSHIP. 

1. It is the duty of every member to contribute his or 
her quota towards the support of public worship, and 
none will be excused from this duty except on account 
of inability. 

2. Churches should require of her members a pay- 
ment of some amount every year in the current ex- 
penses of the church except the poor, who are bene- 
ficiaries of the church. And any member failing in 
this, shall have no voice in the business meetings of 
the church. Members must be of two kinds, those 
who give ; those who receive. 

3. The meeting house shall be opened for public 
worship as often as the Church may direct for regular 
service, and at the discretion of the pastor for special 
service. 

4. The ordinance of the Lord's Supper shall be ad- 
ministered quarterly — on the first Sunday in January, 
April, July, and October, and the Ordinance of Bap- 
tism as often as circumstances may require. 

5. The Pastor of the Church is authorized and em- 
powered to reprove and correct any and all offenses 
against the proper decorum and sobriety of the house 
01 God. 

6. It shall be the duty of every member to attend all 



286 CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 

"■" " " " r,:~ ~~~;\ 

meetings of the Church, whether for worship, ordinary 
or extraordinary business, and to be present at the 
Lord's Table. 

7. It shall be the duty of those members who possess 
suitable qualifications to assist in the public service by 
song, prayer and exhortation. 

8. After the church has been served the deacons 
shall return in a body to the pastor and return their 
platter or cup to him. He shall take the plate and 
give the bread to all the deacons, and lastly the deacon 
shall take the platter and administer to the pastor, and 
in like manner the cup. 

9. The deacons shall return together to the pastor 
with the collections and the pastor shall give thanks 
to God for the offering. 

10. A reception committee of two at each door shall 
be there to shake hands with the people as they depart 
and invite them back again, or to distribute tracts, etc. 



OFFICERS OF THE CHURCH AND THEIR DUTIES. 

1. The Pastor shall be elected by ballot. Three- 
fourths of the votes cast shall be necessary to a choice. 
He shall be elected to serve the Church an indefinite 
length of time, with the mutual understanding be- 
tween him and the Church that relationship may be 
dissolved upon three months' notice from either, or in 
a shorter time if agreeable to both. 

2. It shall be the duty of the Pastor to preach as 
often as the Church may direct ; to administer the Ordi- 
nances; to act as Moderator in all meetings; to have 
the general oversight and direction of the work of the 



CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 28/ 

Church; to labor in word and doctrine, and to visit 
from house to house, especially in time of sickness and 
sorrow, but he shall not be charged with neglect if he 
fail to do so unless particularly informed of the case. 

3. The number of Deacons shall be regulated ac- 
cording to the needs of the Church. It is their duty to 
look after the poor of the Church ; to serve the Lord's 
table ; to visit and to comfort the sick ; to take a lead- 
ing part in the instruction of the ignorant; to reprove 
and correct the unruly; to preserve, as far as possible, 
the peace and harmony of the Church, and especially 
in taking care of the absentees from the worship of the 
Lord's house that they be visited and admonished ; and 
to manage the finances of the Church. Whenever a 
Deacon shall become inactive it is expected that he will 
at once resign his office. The Board of Deacons shall 
be elected annually. 

4. The Clerk and his assistant shall be elected an- 
nually. It is the duty of the Clerk to keep a record of 
all the proceedings and decisions of the Church; to 
keep a roll of the membership, showing when and how T 
received or dismissed. He shall be the custodian of all 
records and documents belonging to the Church, and 
shall not exhibit the same without the consent of the 
Church. In the absence of the Clerk, his duties shall 
fall upon the assistant. 

5. The Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer shall 
be elected annually from the Board of Deacons. It 
shall be their duty to receive and disburse all monies 
belonging to the Church ; to keep a correct account of 
all the contributions of each member as indicated by the 
envelopes, or coming to their knowledge otherwise, and 



288 CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 

make a report monthly at the regular business meet- 
ing, showing the condition of the treasury. 

6. The Trustees elected by the Church shall hold 
in trust all property belonging to the Church, and shall 
take all necessary measures for its protection. 

7. Standing Committees shall be elected annually, 
and shall report at any meeting of the Church any new 
matter that has claimed their attention. 



PRINCIPLES AND RULES OF GOVERNMENT. 

1. A public and satisfactory profession of faith in 
Christ in the presence of the Church, and submission 
to the ordinance of baptism are prerequisites to mem- 
bership. Persons desiring to become members of this 
Church should make their wishes known to the Pas- 
tor or one of the Deacons, who will advise them. 

2. Persons presenting letters of dismission from 
churches of the same faith and order will be admitted 
to membership, provided the letter has not been 
granted more than three months. In such cases sat- 
isfactory reasons for delay will be required. 

3. Persons who may have lost their membership, 
upon satisfactory evidence of their regeneration and 
baptism, will be admitted to membership by relation. 

4. Persons who have been excluded from this 
Church who give satisfactory evidence of their repent- 
ance and in the presence of the Church acknowledge 
their wrong, will be restored to membership. 



CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 289 

5. In case objection should be made to receiving a 
member, the application will be referred to the Deacons 
without debate, and the objection will be heard by 
them, after which they will report to the Church. 



PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERS. 

1. An equal suffrage in the decision of all ques- 
tions, whether secular or religious. 

2. A reasonable portion for their support in case of 
need, out of the funds of the Church (when these 
funds will permit) and a perfect equality in all the ad- 
vantages of the Church, whether temporal or spiritual. 



SECTION VII. 

COVENANT. 

Having been, as we trust, brought by divine grace 
to embrace the Lord Jesus Christ, and to give ourselves 
wholly to Him, we do now solemnly and joyfully cov- 
enant before God, and with each other, to walk to- 
gether in Him with brotherly love, to His glory as our 
common Lord. We do, therefore, in His strength, en- 
gage- 
That we will exercise a Christian care and watch- 
fulness over each other, and faithfully warn, exhort 
and admonish each other as occasion may require. 

That we will not forsake the assembling of our- 
selves together, but w T ill uphold the public worship of 
God, and the ordinance of His house. 



29O CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 

That we will not omit closet and family religion at 
home, nor neglect the great duty of religiously train- 
ing our children, and those under our care, for the 
service of Christ and enjoyment of heaven. 

That as we are the light of the world, and salt of the 
earth, will seek divine aid to enable us to deny ungodli- 
ness, and every worldly lust, and to walk circum- 
spectly in the world, that we may win the souls of men. 

That we will cheerfully contribute our property, ac- 
cording as God has prospered us, for the maintenance 
of a faithful and evangelical ministry among us for 
the support of the poor and to spread the Gospel over 
the earth. 

That we will, in all conditions, even till death, strive 
to live to the glory of Him, who has called us out of 
darkness into His marvelous light. 

We further pledge a*id most solemnly covenant with 
each other that we will abstain from intoxicating 
drinks as a beverage or social pleasure; and that we 
will not engage in distilling, brewing, buying or selling 
of vinous and intoxicating drinks for profit or pleasure. 

We further pledge not to engage in dancing, card- 
playing, gambling in any form, or in plays that are 
harmful to religion, but to work for the upbuilding of 
the church, and the morality and sobriety of our town 
and community. 

We will plan to meet the pastor and Church in a re- 
newal of this Covenant, and read it in concert imme- 
diately before taking the Lord's Supper that its fresh- 
ness may help us to remember our covenant obligations. 



SUBPOENA. 



DIVINE JUSTICE % 

vs. ' ( To Your Immortal Soul. 

SIN. ' ) 

Dear Brother or Sister, Greeting: 

You Are Hereby Commanded, That laying all 
other business aside, you personally be and appear on 
the morning of the Great Judgment Day to be held in 
the presence of the assembled nations of the world, 
there to testify the truth to say on the part and in be- 
half of the life you have lived and the deed done in 
your body, whether they have been good or evil. 

Herein fail not. 

Witness : 

The Lord JESUS CHRIST, Judge of Said Court. 
Selected. 



TO PASTORS. 

Pastor? in making ouc a Directory for their Church 
would find it systematic and convenient to begin at 
some place as a center, say at the Church or postoffice 
and going west give names on the north side of the 
street and on returning to Church the names on the 
south side. Continue in this way until all the consecu- 
tive numbers are given and then give your miscella- 
neous list at the end. 

Some Churches find it convenient to have their "Res- 
ident" and "Non-Resident" list of members. 

This manual need not cost much. Advertisements 
might be secured to cover cost of printing. When 
solicitors come wanting "a list of the membership of 
your church" they would not mind giving the pastor 
fifty cents for a copy of his Directory to get his list of 
members thus arranged. 



INDEX. 



Acknowledgment 3 

Dedication 4 

Introduction 5 

BOOK ONE. 

The First Church 21 

BOOK TWO. 

New Testament Baptism 129 

BOOK THREE. 
The Lord's Supper 179 

BOOK FOUR. 

The Preacher 227 

The Deacon 239 

BOOK FIVE. 

Offenses 245 

First Phase 247 

Second Phase 254 

Public Offenses 257 

Heroic Measures 263 

BOOK SIX. 

Disciplinary 267 

Church Government 269 

Church Letters 27S 

Rules of Decorum 281 

Rules of Order 283 

Public Worship 285 

Covenant 289 

Subpoena 291 

Index 293 



OCT 10 1904 



